Transitions can be hard hey.
We've spent the last 3 weeks meandering our way through the beautiful forests, alpine regions and mountains of Victoria and New South Wales.
And now, it's less than one week until we are home…and boy has home been calling! It’s funny that the closer you are to the end of something (a trip, a trail, a workday), the harder that last little bit becomes. It’s certainly true as we inch further north and closer to home, now less than 1000 kms away. We are in what a fellow traveller called a ‘liminal space’ – a moment of transition where we are still in the adventure, but also thinking and longing for home and work (a good sign!). But as we inch home, we are reminded – by another friend, ‘not to take shortcuts’ (which would make it easier) - to hold the tension and to end well. In some ways, the temptation is to just rush to the next chapter of home and enjoy all the comforts that it brings - like protection from elements (these last weeks we’ve been endlessly trying to stay warm and escape rain!), a warm bed, a short stroll to the loo in the middle of the night (not down a ladder and a long walk in the cold!), easy access to early morning tea and coffee….the closer home we get the more we miss it!
During this transitioning phase, we’ve been reflecting on the journey and the lessons and meanings we’ve made during these past 4 months on the road. We’ve been listening to Richard Rudd discuss the Gene Keys, and some of the key messages (among many) included being compassionate, gentle and patient with ourselves. Many times on this trip we have caught ourselves saying, ‘This is too hard, it shouldn’t be like this on a holiday’, but then we’re reminded it’s not a holiday. Our intention was a pilgrim journey of listening and learning. To intentionally create a vacuum from everyday life and see what emerges. And being compassionate and patient with ourselves through the inevitable frustrations and difficulties has been a big lesson. We’re wondering how to keep this message in our hearts for everyday living.
Yet one joy of the transitional-liminal space we’re in is that work-related creativity is sparking. Work now seems to call, emerging out of the great pause this trip has created. Yet, being out of practice for so long, we’ve realised that we are no longer work fit! Only recently, Peter spent three hours working in online meetings and phone calls and finishing, said, ‘wow, I’m exhausted!’ After a day of facilitating a workshop in Adelaide, he needed two days to recover. We laughed the other day recognising we are walking fit, but not work fit! We’re curious how to mix it up and somehow remain walking fit and become work fit again too (knowing of course it will come with time 🙂).
Despite that, it’s been a delight to feel the creative energy bubble these last few weeks. We’ve got a book contract signed while on this journey; Peter has another one brewing, and we’ve curated a bunch of offerings for coming months (including some great Community Praxis workshops and a fabulous one in Alice Springs for June 2024, in partnership with Campfire in the Heart). Consider coming along to one of these, or we could host something similar at your place.
For now, it’s merely days till we reach home and we continue to enjoy this transitional space, closing this journey at one of our favourite places, Girraween National Park; place of flowers. A fitting place to complete this pilgrim journey. We continue to hold the intention of ending well, and ‘holding the tension’ (almost home, but still on an adventure) to the end – while being compassionate with ourselves if we fall short occasionally.
Thanks for journeying with us these last months.
Rachael and Peter :)
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