MAJOR LIFE CHANGES

KANSAS INLAND OCEAN

CAROLINA ATLANTIC OCEAN

When we’re living in the prime of our lives, it’s quite likely we’re also wearing many hats that we self-identify with as we attempt to juggle multiple responsibilities—and identities.  If we’re lucky, we will actually have the good fortune to experience most of the significant life changes that come with a full life, e.g., I learned early on to see retirement as a life change from success to significance and reset my life course to embrace it.  We choose many of our life changes and identities and others are thrust upon us.  I now identify as a cancer survivor, not by choice, but circumstance.   

I recently watched a short video discussing major life changes that confirmed they don’t just change circumstances but also our identity as well.  And the new version of you hasn’t arrived yet which can take some serious adjustments of self.  A good question to ask is “Who am I now learning to become?” and embrace it.  That’s the hardest part.  Who is this new person I have become that now others, especially new acquaintances, see me in the world at that time in my life?  This may be an easier adjustment for those I just met versus folks I have known all of my life.

And just to keep life interesting, I've migrated from the vast Inland Ocean of Kansas to North Carolina's Atlantic Ocean.

 

STRAIGHT VS ORGANIC PATHS OF LIFE

 

LABYRINTH AND STRAIGHT PATHS

“Treatment is not a straight line.” —Dr Dorsey 

“Life is not linear, it’s organic.  We create our lives symbiotically as we explore our talents in relation to the circumstances they helped to create for us.” –Ted Talk, Sir Ken Robinson

As I was finishing the second three-week treatment schedule towards cancer remission, the access port for the chemo which was imbedded in my right chest became infected.  My care team determined that it needed to be removed and treated immediately before the infection spread to my blood stream.  An arm PICC was also installed in my left arm muscle to facilitate the remaining four treatments in the four-month fight.

Afterwards, the lead oncologist in my care team noted that “the path to treatment is not a straight line.”  My reply was that “Actually, in the greater scheme of things, life isn’t a straight line either.  We always encounter detours and dead ends!”  Now that the treatments successfully eliminated the cancer cells, I’ve had more time to reflect and realize that much has been written and studied about the options of taking a straight versus organic path in life.

I’ve learned that a “straight" life path is a structured, linear, and goal-oriented trajectory, while an "organic" life path embraces nonlinearity, curiosity, and adaptability. It allows for pivots, detours, and personal evolution based on what feels authentic rather than a predetermined plan.  This approach treats life less like a ladder to climb and more like a garden to tend. It embraces detours, failures, and reinvention.

“Most people find themselves living a blend of both—starting with structured foundations and naturally branching into more organic, intuitive directions as they grow older.”  There’s a lot to be said for walking a traditional labyrinth.  Through viewing life as a labyrinth, we integrate the cyclical nature of turning outwards and turning inwards as we move closer to the Heart which is the hub of the authentic life.