Change Changing Places

Change changing places
Root yourself to the ground
Capitalize on this good fortune
One word can bring you round
Changes

-Yes

I live in a house of change. Literally.

Since my husband lost his job at the end of May, it's been stressful, exciting, frightening and exhilarating. The question "What happens next?" is one that we ask a lot around here.

A student of the martial arts for nearly his entire life, my husband David asked me to look over a few paragraphs he had written up. It was for Tai Chi, Chi Gung, and Ba Gua classes - personal instruction in a client's own home or for groups if a location/site wanted to host.

I was immediately excited. In California, specifically the Bay Area where he moved from six years ago, and where we both attended high school in the 1980's, martial arts of all kinds are prevalent. Here it has been a little more touch and go, and he has missed practicing with others. For a while he taught Tai Chi to seniors at a local retirement center here in town until it changed management.

I eagerly edited and spiffed up his write-up and suggested he consider dropping by the local community center and proposing a class schedule to them as well. He did and the director jumped at the chance. He meets with her on Thursday to finalize a class schedule. With that tidy success I sent an email to him, with the contact info of all of my current host sites and suggested he send emails to them as well. He did, and has already heard back from two of them with an affirmative.

We both love to share knowledge and help others and the opportunity to share this passion he has for the internal energy arts is very exciting for both of us. So that was the first set of changes to roll through. They affect me, but not directly, and I am so happy to see him on this path.

Losing your job, no matter what the circumstances, is not easy. I have tried to be helpful, probably too helpful, and it was for this reason that I nagged him into attending a seminar this past Saturday. It was conducted by Chuck Franks, a local life coach, and although he went unwillingly and with no small share of resentment, I think my husband did get something out of it. The seminar was on dealing with job loss, hunting for new work, and basically keeping your chin up along the way.

Dave returned with Chuck's card and I immediately recognized him as someone I had spoken to earlier this year when I was considering becoming accredited as a life coach. This renewed the curiosity I had had about the subject. After all, I was nearly 2/3 of the way through completing my manuscript for "Change Your Life" and I was busy questioning what a publisher would want with an uncredentialed life coach telling a reader how to change their lives.

I also wondered what the program/training would be able to teach me. A lot I was sure, but what? So I did some research, found a program that seemed thorough, convenient, and affordable. And I signed up today.

[Gulp]

Okay, now just to review.

*I run a housecleaning business and do most of the cleanings on my own.
*I run an organizing business and teach organizing classes where I sell my first published book "Get Organized, Stay Organized."
*I have a toddler who is still nursing (well, just twice a day now)
*I have completed about 2/3 of the manuscript for "Change Your Life"
*I really need to get a scarf knitted for my mom for Christmas - currently only six inches along
*Should I even mention the fact that all of my molding and doors still need painting?

So I jumped in and signed up for the course and I'm hoping I can fast track it into six months and then get accredited soon after. I've also added an ENTIRELY NEW SECTION to "CYL" that will include stories of people that I end up coaching along the way.

Did I mention that I wrote 8,000 words on CYL?!

Woohoo!

This book is going to be fantastic when it is done.

And finally, the last point of the day. I started to feel stressed as I began to log into the International Coach Academy website. So I pulled up a sample of a CD set that is on its way right now to us. The CD is called "Ancient Songs of the Tao" and it is by Bruce Frantzis, a Taoist master and instructor of my husband. I listened to the snippet this morning and immediately began to feel my insides vibrate and a sense of calm descend. You can find this CD at www.energyarts.com (and will someone please tell me WHY the paste link function is NOT working? Gah!)

I have found that when writing I cannot have a lot of sound going on around me. Although I love music, if there is any spoken words I am immediately distracted. No Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, no Pink Floyd or Perfect Circle, recently even my Vision CD and the Kim Robertson "Angels in Disguise" CD is too much!

I also found myself having great difficulty focusing on what I was writing and staying on topic. So "Ancient Songs of the Tao" has been ordered and I've committed to studying some basic Tai Chi and Chi Gung moves with the hubby. Hopefully the two will help keep me sane over the next six months as I marshal my learning abilities and keep my eyes on the prize!

The Definition of Insanity

I have learned that when I need my husband's help on certain projects, moving heavy furniture for example, it is a good idea to foreshadow the event.

Last Saturday I said to him, "My office configuration is not working, I need to move my desk to a different wall." He turned and left my office without a word.

On Monday I showed him a diagram, "I've done all the measurements and taken into account the floor vent and it will work well on this wall." He examined the diagram for a moment and shook his head and walked out of the office without a word.

On Wednesday I asked, "So, when you are over your cold, maybe this weekend, could you help me move the furniture?" He grumbled something under his breath and changed the subject to asking me what I wanted for dinner.

This morning (Friday) I cornered him in the kitchen, "So, do you feel up to moving some furniture today?"

He stared at me rebelliously, "You and your moving of stuff. In my family, we put the furniture in once and it stays there."

"I'm sorry, I just realized that the desk took up way too much room in the spot that it is in. If I move it, it will open up the space considerably." I paused, "How does your family manage to get the right configuration the first time, anyway?"

He grinned, "I didn't say it was the best configuration, only that once it's there, it never changes."

Okay...

This evening I asked him, "So, are you going to help me move this furniture or what?" He grumbled and headed into the office, folded his arms over his chest and huffed, "So, what do you want moved where?"

A tense 30 minutes later, full of grumbling, sniping, and slamming of cords and power supply boxes, my office is rearranged and now has space in the middle to breathe. It looks great! As Dave puts it, I have a dance floor now. Not that I need a dance floor, but it feels far less claustrophobic in the new configuration.

All day I've been thinking of his explanation of his family and thinking to myself "Now I understand!"

The idea of not changing, even when something isn't working, is completely alien to me. Move it around, shake it up, put it in the wash, tie-dye it, bring the outdoors in and the indoors out. Change your perspective and re-invent yourself and your perspectives on the world around you.

See, it works like this...

Question: What is the definition of insanity?
Answer: Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

Go on, mix it up a little. Move your bedroom furniture around, change the paint color on your walls, and explore a completely different career or hobby.

If something isn't working in your life than it means that change is on the menu. Don't ignore it, shove the dresser to the right, add a touch of "What Color Is My Parachute?" and don't be afraid of the dust bunnies and dreams you stir up.

Life is too short not to get a new perspective on things.