Facing Life Transitions

What Are Life Transitions?

The two most dramatic life transitions are ones we barely notice or remember-these are birth and death. Coming into this world and leaving it are events we celebrate or mourn in the lives of others, but our experience of our own birth amounts to little more than an after-the-fact look at a faded photograph and our experience of death (unless we have had a near death experience) is entirely in our imaginings.

Most of the life transitions that we have to deal with are in between birth and death: starting kindergarten, graduating from high school, our first love, losing our virginity, marriage, having children, divorce, empty nests, having grandchildren, first jobs, promotions, moves, losses of friends and loved ones, retirement, financial reverses or windfalls. The list is endless. I would estimate that we each go through at least twenty such major transitions in a life span, some joyful, some painful, some easy and barely noticed, others difficult and haunting.

Some are marked with great anticipation, others with dread. Some are expected, many are unplanned, even unthinkable.

All require us to examine our capacity to adjust. We have to reframe our thoughts about life, about ourselves, and about our world. We may be jolted out of a comfortable and stable emotional state into one marked with chaos and uncertainty. Our spiritual core may be damaged or even expanded.

Though every human being since creation has had to go through the same transitions, we can feel like each transition is an entirely unique experience, one we've heard about or read about but not truly known until our own lives are affected.

Why Are Life Transitions Difficult?

Life transitions are difficult because they require mental, emotional, and spiritual readjustment. And most often they come on top of one another or at least overlapping. Haven't we all wished that we had just one year or even one day without the need to make some major adjustment?