The Next Chapter…. Turn The Page!

By: Jackie Warner

It’s so hard to say goodbye to what we know, even if there is good to come. It is as if we get stuck and can’t move forward. Why is this so true? Well in our present and current situation, we know what we have, we know where we are, even though it is not really where we want to be…we still know. As we contemplate making a change in our lives or moving to the next chapter, we stall, stop, straddle the fence, or make excuses for not being able to turn the page. It is truly hard, but we all know it is necessary.

Going through to get through is tough and retreating to what is familiar is what we do. Sometimes we can stay too long. I am reminded of Lot’s wife:

Genesis 19: 17 — When they had brought them outside, one said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away.”

Genesis 19:26 — But his wife, from behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

So often when we decide to leave what we know so well and finally turn the page, we think we are starting over but actually we are progressing. Yes, the page turns, but we have not left anything behind – we’ve taken it with us. We merely gain: the good, the bad, and if we allow it – perspective to help us in this next chapter.

• Stop trying to control the uncontrollable things in life
• Change is good. Breathe and then let go
• Sift through it all and then sift again; keep the good
• Take calculated and informed risks
• Life lessons – cherish them but learn from them
• Accept and move on
• You can’t get there if you don’t go

Don’t let one chapter in your life define your whole life. Remember: You can’t start the next chapter if you continue to keep reading the last one.