I hope you will enjoy this guest post from Women on Fire member Dyana Robenalt of Stockbridge, MA. I found it inspiring and uplifting and I thought you might, too. I’ll be back next week! xo Debbie

Switching Hands: How to Manage Life in Transition
By Dyana Robenalt

When I was 13, my mother died.

Within days, I was plucked from her and my stepfather’s loving home. This began a lifetime of planned and unplanned transitions.

Resiliency became my invisible middle name.

Being in a transition can feel scary. Imagine switching hands from your dominant side to your other one. Being open to this adaptation created a huge awareness for me.

My ex-husband and I used to periodically switch sides of the bed just to keep ourselves open to the concept of change.

Fear ruled many of my transitions and often took the form of crises. Witnessing 9/11 created a string of devastating transitions and luckily, many earth angels and soul guides helped me to overcome my serious pain.

I am currently in one of the more radical shifts I’ve experienced in years. While I tried to plan it, there are still many unknown elements creating the mystique and excitement I crave after years of knowing that virtuous “rewards” often come at the end of seemingly difficult times.

This one has BIG potential and I’m ready! Learning to trust the process and flow like the rising and falling of tides, no matter what, has taken years of practice.

Letting go and letting God run the show is still challenging. I keep my favorite saying from Wayne Dyer handy to help with this:

Over time my thinking shifted from:
Forget
Everything
And
Run

to

Feeling
Excited
And
Ready!

For the past ten years, I’ve focused on taking responsibility for mistakes I made. I adjusted the sails and redesigned my outlook. This translated to patience and understanding that I am always where I am supposed to be at the time – an ongoing reminder.

Humility has become the new badge of honor I seek, and living with a strong moral compass as my foundation has helped me to navigate even the most turbulent waters. We’re all connected and we never know the pain someone else is in or has endured.

It makes sense to always be kind and realize that we’re all just trying to make it through the day. Last year, keeping a gratitude jar did wonders for me. The act of writing down one thing I was grateful for every day created a revolutionary shift in my positivity!

Here are a few other practices and reminders I try to do daily for smooth transitions:

• Believe something great is about to happen
• Pick “winners”
• Be open yet expect nothing
• Seek higher guidance
• Always be the first to say hello
• Keep favorite books handy. Read new inspiring ones
• Listen more than talk (My hardest!)
• Catch and “flick” negative thoughts away with my hand
• Be willing to try new things
• Keep 3-4 months of savings on hand!
• Do random acts of kindness, volunteer or help someone
• Meditate, be in nature, be still
• Do the WORK

Transitions allow me to reflect and plan how I will react differently next time. Every minute and every day provide opportunities to start over. Learning to “switch hands” in transitions no matter when they come, or how long they last, has given me more peace, freedom and happiness!

More about Dyana Robenalt~

Dyana is a Western Massachusetts Master Gardener (recently transferred from Rutgers) with over 40 years of experience and a major foodie and spititual being. She provides garden coaching and estate management services. She has served on the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) Advisory Council for the Backyard Wildlife Habitat program and is a NJ Learns Fellow graduate from the Cloud Institute for Sustainability.

Her experience also includes former careers in hospitality and teaching in private independent schools. She recently relocated to the Berkshires and can be reached at dyana(at)dyanarobenalt(dot)com. You can follow her on Twitter @greengardenlady.