“I’m a problem solver. I love people.
The more complicated they are, the more I get into them,
and I just want to understand what makes them tick.”

— Paul Walker

I am a very goal and activity-oriented person. Action is my preferred gear. I need to be very intentional if I am to be slow, deliberative, and still. I enjoy both ways of making things happen. When I am reflective and let the things that are supposed to happen come to me, I always learn and appreciate that timing isn’t always in my control. Most of the time, I am in motion – getting things done. I am a hardwired helper and I do this for a living, derive satisfaction from visioning, and then execute a plan. I like to know that I can make a difference in the world.

• How do you approach your days?

• Do you have a variety of “gears” to shift with the situation and need?

I am more aware these days of how I am operating. I have moved myself and my pack of five little dogs into a new house. Our routines need to adapt to a larger space with more than one floor and different sights, smells, and ways of doing things. Being in these new rooms brings a ‘freshness’ to the mundane daily cadence. At the same time, the seasons are changing, and we start our morning in darkness. This adds a little adventure to tasks. I greet each room as I move through the house to work on my list. I stop and sit for awhile to take in my new space with great appreciation. I am surrounded by antiques selected by my mother for her home and mine. There is great comfort in this environment.

And yet, more change is on the horizon. More need to flex, adapt, and practice resilience is needed.

I don’t stay long in a stable, static moment. I am always moving forward. Sometime in limbo. And frustrated if feeling stuck and restrained.

• Can you relate?

(Yes, I hear you coaching me to slow down and smell the roses.)

Sometimes the need for change is initiated by me and often by a need.

I have been working to move from my cottage to a house two miles from my lakeside little abode. Life has constantly interrupted my progress on this goal. But here I sit in the Big House, a Colonial Williamsburg-style home filled with my possessions and those of my mother. The house has been a place for convening, hosting, parties, and for individuals to land and stay if needed. I have visited it every day; planted a garden every year; and occasionally spent the night.

Now we are here, the dogs and I relocated to be with a friend visiting from England. I have decided to stay in place and move a box from the cottage each day until we are completely relocated. My initial plan did not work so I am going to grab the momentum of this opportunity and change strategies.

• Do you find yourself doing this, too? Changing the plan and the strategies and going with what presents itself?

I have shifted from everything that must be done to make change to an incremental approach. Maybe the tortoise approach does serve me better, sometimes.

You would think that I would be closing in on a sense of completion. Moving through the river of chaos and change onto an island of stability.

However, there are more complications ahead of me.

My cat, Nala, will need to relocate from the lane she loves and my neighbor’s home where she enjoys his company and that of his dog and cat. My youngest French Bulldogs don’t respect her boundaries and we have negotiations to make this happen. I have all sorts of plans and strategies for making this transition smooth for all.

This week, my almost 93-year-old neighbor, decided to relocate. It feels like the plate tectonics of moving are all in action for us.

His dog, Bailey, will need a place to stay. I visit this dog daily. I adore his happy hound dog’s howling. He likes my dogs and cat. Where else should he land but with me? Yes, six dogs will be a pack full. But if I am to complicate my life, this is a joyful way to do it.

I expect that I will learn many new things in forming a new family unit in a new location. It will keep me on my toes (and not compliant – heavens no! My winter months may be fast-moving and full.

I don’t strive for life’s complications, but I am happy to know that I can handle almost anything that is tossed in my direction.

• How is your life looking? A straight or squiggly line of forward motion? My hope is that you are not encountering any brick walls.

The one thing we all can count on is that change is always dancing around us and affecting us.

My mantra going forward will be, Embrace the Complication with Great Joy — a sort of ‘May the Force Be With You’ way of advancing into the future regardless of what life presents you.

Happy Fall, Friends.

Leslie

“It’s a form of human love to accept our complicated, messy humanity
and not run away from it.”

— Martha Nussbaum