Leaving a piece of one’s heart

A former neighbor this morning wrote to reassure me that I can handle the upcoming transition to Houston–and she said that there are always bumps in a move, but they won’t be felt so much if we take them in low gear! I love that thought. It strikes me that there are things we know well in our head that have yet to filter to our hearts…
creating space for the filtering is important–as is giving ourselves time. Even so, I realize I leave a piece of my heart in Austin after 20 years…

If you are going through a transition or are stuck in a place, seek out a life coach who can shine a light on your path!

Life is Amazing! Live Well.

Anna Grassini
www.lifeinbalancecoach.com

The transformation of a home….

This is what I know for sure: houses can be bought and sold. Homes we carry in our heart!

The process of selling my own house started in earnest with cleaning out a dozen years of clutter and what now seems to me over 30 years of personal history. The piles of things to shed grew higher and the closets grew cleaner, until we came to the final stages…when the clutter had disappeared and what remained now was the bare bones of the house. I have often spoken to people about this–it is the process of creating the appearance of a house that can adapt itself to the personality of the buyer…that makes itself more desirable because it is clean and organized and somewhat neutral–think a miniature scale version of the Pottery Barn…something that can appeal to different people so that they can they make it their own.

What I never realized is that this final process of staging takes away the comfort of a home…what remains is now a house ready for sale. Go visit any new home model around the country and you will know that there is an art to this presentation….

And so now that my home is a house, I owe gratitude to the folks who have shared their expertise and time, including Sherri Williams ( the Travis Country neighborhood real estate expert), Michael The Stage Coach, Joe the helper…and of course, my best friend and my partner, John. My special thanks go to all those who have listened to me and to those who have prayed so that I would have the emotional and physical strength to continue on this transition.

And now, when the finish line is in sight–I can sing because home will always be in my heart.

Life is Amazing! Live Well.

Anna Grassini

www.lifeinbalancecoach.com

Life in chapters

Thanks to a friend who is also a coach, I realized yesterday that the sadness about preparing the house for sale was not about detaching from the walls (after all, I have done that before!). What the sadness was telling me is that I was in transition–and declaring the end of an era. My friend used the analogy of reading a chapter book–one chapter has ended, and now I sit staring at the blank page before the next chapter starts. Despite the excitement that surrounds the next part of the story, there is sadness that an important chapter has ended. Being able to name what the sadness was about suddenly made it lift–oh yes, I said to myself. There is much to be celebrated about the last chapter, but also some grief about letting go. It is ok to sit with it…suddently, just as it had come, the wall of emotions that had enveloped me over the last few days is dissipating…and leaving space for the the joy that lies ahead.
Life is Amazing! Live Well.
Anna Grassini
lifeinbalancecoach.com

On leaving and moving and emotions

Transition is the movement from one stage to another–transitions can take all shapes and involve change that we either chose or that somehow fell upon us (think pink slip, death, illness…something transformative that we may not have chosen). Transitions are on my mind right now as I shift from one city to another. I have handled everything about the move with attention to detail, trying to keep my linear thinking and clarity through the process…and all was going well until the necessity to clear the clutter came about. All of a sudden, a wall of emotion came over me. Memories are what matter– we made them in this house, but they will travel with me in my heart…and yet the emotion is strong and there is an exquisite sadness about moving on. I am trying to wrap my arms around it…I remind myself to be kind and gentle to myself, and to sit with the emotions–to honor where I am and what I feel.
What are you experiencing in your own life transitions? Would love to hear!