Transcript
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This is the mini solo series, The Things We Carry, small moments and themes that keep me thinking way after the conversations on the Life Shift podcast. Hey there, after hearing so many stories on this show, I started really noticing themes that keep showing up. So these solo episodes are my way of kind of exploring those ideas just a little bit more. So thanks for being here. You ever have one of those days where you feel the weight of everything just shifting beneath your feet? Like the earth tilts or goes awry a little and suddenly the way you thought your life was gonna go no longer makes sense. I've been thinking a lot about those moments, obviously. Those lines in the sand that mark this before and after. It's funny how often these moments come up when I talk to people on the show, but it's not that funny because that's the way I created it. But Josh reminded me how easy it is to get stuck in the place of discomfort. That spot where your mind clings to the negative because it feels safer. He spoke about the way our brains are wired to look for threats, to anticipate what could go wrong. And I know that feeling too well. It's almost like a default mode, scanning the horizon for danger, even when the sun is still shining. Josh's story made me wonder how many of us carry this invisible weight. expecting the worst just in case and not realizing that it keeps us tethered to this past, that we need to move beyond. Then there's my friend Jackie, who shared her journey of shifting from a familiar, comfortable narrative into something unknown and new. She was doing all the right things, taking the boxes that life expected. But in her story, there was a sense of kind of loosening the reins and learning to flow with life rather than trying to steer it so tightly. Certainly been there too. wanting to control everything because the alternative feels super scary. But Jackie's openness to trying on new paths even when they didn't have guarantees reminded me that it's okay to be uncertain. Sometimes the most significant shifts aren't about a single dramatic event, but about the small brave choices we make each day to step towards something different. And Betsy, her story of grieving a loss when the world wasn't ready to talk about grief, really hit home. She spoke about living a life that checked every expected box, yet felt hollow underneath, and that tension between external success and internal longing is something that I know too well, of course. Betsy's reflection made me realize how much I held on to those roles and expectations that didn't quite fit, especially early on. Her story is a quiet reminder about the messy, non-linear process of finding yourself after life changes everything. What ties all these stories together is that none of this recovery or change is easy. It's complicated. It winds all around. Some days I'm more caught up in these old patterns that I like, and some days I can find that new way forward. But there's no perfect timeline, no guaranteed map, just the messy, sometimes slow work of opening up to who we're becoming. These moments, the ones that disrupt our lives, are often unsettling. but there are also openings. Invitations to reimagine who we are and what our story might be. The thing is, you don't always recognize the moment when it's happening. It might be a quiet shift or a sharp break, but when you look back, you can see the line in the sand. Everything before was one version of your life, and everything after is something different. That difference may feel like loss or grief or uncertainty. It might bring fear or relief or even a strange sense of hope. In every conversation I sit with my own lines in the sand moments. Some are clear, some are fuzzy, and I have to hold space for all of it. The grief for what was, the curiosity about what could be, and the willingness to keep moving even when the path is very unclear. So if you're listening today and you felt that shake beneath your feet, you know you're not alone. Maybe today is one of those days, or maybe it's a day when you're starting to notice the moment you crossed your own line in the sand. Whatever it looks like, it's part of the story that is creating you into who you are becoming. So, I invite you to take a moment to notice. What is your line in the sand? When did your life quietly or loudly change forever? And how are you showing up on the other side of that? There's no rush to have all the answers, just the courage to keep stepping forward. because that is where the real life shift happens.
