There is something strange about waiting for your life to change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You imagine the moment so many times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You think about what it will feel like when the waiting is finally over. When the answer comes. When the door opens. When you can finally say, This is happening.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n And somewhere along the way, you convince yourself that when that moment arrives, you will be ready.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Excited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Organised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps even standing beside perfectly packed suitcases with a peaceful smile on your face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But sometimes the door opens…<\/p>\n\n\n\n and you are still standing there in your pyjamas wondering where you packed the phone charger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Life has a sense of humour like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The truth is, some of the biggest changes in our lives don’t arrive when everything inside us is neatly sorted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They arrive while we’re still trying to understand what we’re leaving behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can be excited about where you’re going and heartbroken about what you’re leaving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can be grateful for a new beginning and still cry over an ending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can know that something is right and still be frightened by it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can have waited months, or even years, for something to happen and suddenly think:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wait. Already?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n That doesn’t mean you’ve changed your mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It doesn’t mean you’re ungrateful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It simply means you’re human.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We can put clothes into boxes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We can wrap fragile things in paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We can sort cupboards into keep<\/em>, give away<\/em> and throw out<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If only our hearts worked the same way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Imagine that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Memories:<\/strong> Keep. Wouldn’t that make things easier?<\/p>\n\n\n\n But hearts don’t pack according to lists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They carry strange little things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The sound of a familiar gate opening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A favourite chair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A neighbour waving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The way the light falls through a particular window in the afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A coffee mug you’ve used a thousand times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A place at the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ordinary things that suddenly don’t feel ordinary at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And perhaps that is why change can feel so overwhelming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We’re not only packing belongings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We’re trying to pack pieces of a life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the kindest things we can do for ourselves during a big change is stop demanding that we feel only one emotion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You don’t have to choose between happy and sad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can be both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can be hopeful and scared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can be excited and exhausted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can look forward to tomorrow while still wanting to hold onto yesterday for just a little longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is room for all of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A new beginning doesn’t erase everything that came before it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It carries some of it forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lessons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The laughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mistakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The memories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The person you became while living that chapter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You aren’t arriving at your next destination empty-handed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You are bringing an entire life of becoming with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We often imagine courage as something big.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fearless people doing fearless things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But I think courage is usually much quieter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes courage is filling another box when you’re tired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes it’s making the phone call you’ve been avoiding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes it’s signing the paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes it’s saying goodbye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes it’s admitting that you’re scared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes it’s waking up tomorrow and continuing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And sometimes…<\/p>\n\n\n\n courage is simply packing the suitcase anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not because you’re completely ready.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not because you know exactly what comes next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But because somewhere underneath all the noise and uncertainty, there is still a tiny piece of hope whispering:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Go.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps we’ve been thinking about readiness all wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maybe we don’t have to become completely ready before beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maybe beginning is part of becoming ready.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first step teaches us something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then the next one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Until one day we look behind us and realise that the terrifying unknown has slowly become our ordinary life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There will be new routines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n New favourite places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n New people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n New coffee mugs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n New windows where the afternoon light falls differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And slowly, quietly, life will begin filling the empty spaces again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not replacing what came before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just growing around it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you’re reading this while your own life is changing, please don’t wait for some magical moment when you suddenly feel completely prepared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It may never come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take your memories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take your hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take the people you love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take whatever courage you have, even if today it feels very small.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And take the next step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You don’t need the whole map.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You don’t need all the answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You don’t even need to know exactly who you’ll be when you reach the other side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You only need enough courage for the next little bit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The rest can be unpacked later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One breath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One brave little step at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2600\ufe0f Keep Packing Sunshine\u2600\ufe0f<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There is something strange about waiting for your life to change. You imagine the moment so many times. You think about what it will feel […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":286,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[101,100,99],"class_list":["post-285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sunshine-suitcases-blog","tag-keep-packing-sunshine","tag-new-beginnings","tag-you-dont-have-to-be-ready"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sunshinesuitcases.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sunshinesuitcases.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sunshinesuitcases.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sunshinesuitcases.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sunshinesuitcases.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=285"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sunshinesuitcases.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":290,"href":"https:\/\/sunshinesuitcases.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285\/revisions\/290"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sunshinesuitcases.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sunshinesuitcases.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sunshinesuitcases.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sunshinesuitcases.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Maybe We Never Feel Completely Ready<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Our Hearts Pack Differently<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Fear:<\/strong> Throw out.
Courage:<\/strong> Hand luggage.
People we love:<\/strong> Definitely coming with us.
Things we cannot control:<\/strong> Leave behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\nYou Can Be Two Things at Once<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Maybe Courage Looks Different Than We Thought<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
You Can Become Ready Along the Way<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
So, If You’re Standing at the Door…<\/h2>\n\n\n\n