Paradigm Life Shift

When you are in your twenties it seems like life is always changing- you are moving, traveling, every school year is different, you get new jobs, new friends, new boy/girlfriends, etc. Your paradigm is never really a paradigm- life is never the same, so how do you know when it is shifting?

The last paradigm shift that I felt in my life was leaving my mother's home- that was 7 years ago. I went from feeling like a child to feeling like an adult. I went from being *somewhat* cared for to caring for myself. That was a wonderful change for me, it made me independent and encouraged me to budget my money.

I woke up today and felt another finite shift in my life. I am moving, yet again. This will be move 7.0, but it is a very different move. I am moving to an apartment where it will be just me. Only me. Alone. That's it.

My life is going from being a duo to being a solo act, in a sense, without a break up or parting of ways. I have been feeling for a long time that I need a heightened amount of independence. I want to know that I can do it on my own. I want to show other people that I can do it. I don't want to have to depend on anyone- not that I really had been.

Paradigms, they are funny little bastards. They can make your life good, bad, or just plain different. How has your paradigm shifted lately?

Move 6.0

On May 31st, my darling and I changed our living locale for the 4th time together. Yes, I moved. I have lived in 6 different places in the last 10 years. It seems like a lot, but it doesn't feel like a lot.

I can't stand moving. It is a lot of work. Packing, cleaning, hauling, driving, hauling again, unpacking, organizing. Bleh! Too much! However, I love what moving symbolizes. To me, moving is about going forward. It is about change and the thought that it could bring new things and perhaps new opportunities with it.

Moving is also a time to shed. Shed things that you do not need. Shed things that are weighing you down. Why do I need so many plate sets? I will never watch these DVDs again, why do I still have them? I wish my mother would stop buying me knick knacks... Hotel shampoos are terrible- why do we always take them? Etc. In this move, we shed a lot of 'weight', still hoping to shed more.

Some interesting things I found in the move:
-a broken Brita water filter
-a string of patio lights
-excessive amount of University paper work
-so many great mix cds from approximately Grade 11 and up
-photocopied pages of an old Mennonite cookbook

We are living in a peaceful neighborhood, surrounded by trees and what appears to be a horde of rabbits. We can play basketball across the street and barbecue down the street in the park. It is a welcome change from the concrete jungle ghetto we had been in for so long. Living in a place like that really hardens you. It makes you very insensitive. But, it also toughens you up- I'm not afraid of downtown like so many others. I can walk freely without fear. For that, I am thankful.

Perhaps the change of scenery will encourage a change of persona and we will both become more lively and active. I am certainly excited for everything this life change has to offer me.

The Move

I'm not dead. I just moved. I feel a bit dead. So very tired. Will post soon.