Hello   

 'Sometimes the best gain is to lose'

George Herbert

I recently stepped down from a volunteer position that has been a passionate outlet for my desire to guide, educate, and inspire young people for a number of years. While I knew the time was right to step down, what I didn't fully anticipate was the sense of loss that would accompany my decision to step away from this role. 

And as I have experienced with other losses in my life, there's a disconcerting empty spot that is calling for my attention.

Loss of any role brings about a disruption in our sense of place or position, regardless of whether the loss is by choice or by circumstance.  That empty spot can emerge from situations such as: the loss of a job, a recasting of your career path, transitioning from one grade to the next in school, the loss of a life partnership, or the stepping back from a previously held ideal that no longer seems to fit.

What is clear to me is that these empty spots can be places of great opportunity, while at the same time being sand traps to be navigated around. If we're not mindful, those sand traps show up in the form of assumptions, interpretations, limiting beliefs, and our own inner critics.

It is pretty easy to identify and, at times, dwell on what the loss has removed from our life. 

The more difficult , and arguably the more beneficial thought-path to forge is the one that pursues answers to two fundamental questions:

1) What has this loss NOT changed?

and

2) What now becomes possible that wasn't before?

As I was writing this edition, I was reminded of an event in my childhood that sums this up in a simple, yet profound way: 

At 75 years of age, my grandmother endured the full amputation of her leg due to cancer. When she was out of surgery and able to receive visitors, I walked into her room trying my best not to stare at the empty spot in the bed where her leg used to be.  But, my face must have shown how distracting the image was.  She reached for my hand, squeezed it tightly and said 'Come closer...now there's more room to sit and visit with me'. 

Greetings! 

Mike