Savoring A Transition

The word savor is on my mind as we pack our life into boxes. I’m prone to steer my attention forward, focusing on the rush of getting somewhere new. It’s exciting but costly. I lose contact with the beautiful things in this moment and this place. Shifting to savoring reminds me to:

Appreciate the perfect fall weather, colorful trees, and late flowers before the cold winter. Sit in my garden a few more times and reflect on the lessons learned. Visit my favorite coffee shop and say goodbye to the baristas. Hang with local friends and revisit our favorite hiking spots. Enjoy our last days in our current home and laugh at the memories. Recognize this state of transition and the opportunities within it.

In this space, I feel deep gratitude. Even though we are leaving after just a few years, I’m glad we thought we’d live here for decades and acted accordingly. It meant studying the land, building soil, connecting with neighbors, cultivating community, and planting things that others can now enjoy. Even if you leave, fully committing to a place is worth it. In the words of the great David Holmgren: “what I take away in my head is worth way more than what I leave behind."

These reflections bring to mind authors that have written books that read like love letters to a specific place. One of my favorites is The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd about her experience in the Cairngorm mountains of Scotland:

“Summer on the high plateau can be delectable as honey; it can also be a roaring scourge. To those who love the place, both are good, since both are part of its essential nature. And it is to know its essential nature that I am seeking here.

Given our move, I’ve spent a lot of time lately thinking about work. In the short term, not much will change. Yet, I’m aware of how much our environment shapes us and my work has evolved significantly each time I’ve moved. We shape our work and our work shapes us.

A few reflections on work that are inspiring me in this transition:

The Great Work of Your Life, by Stephen Cope

We derive the greatest pleasure and fulfillment when all our faculties are drawn together into our life’s work. In this state of absorption, we experience extraordinary satisfaction. We human beings are attracted to the experience of intense involvement

Three Marriages, by David Whyte

“Work, like marriage, is a place you can lose yourself more easily perhaps than finding yourself. It is a place full of powerful undercurrents, a place to find our selves, but also, a place to drown, losing all sense of our own voice, our own contribution and conversation.”