Picking up stakes and relocating is a time of big change and - as we know - with change comes many emotions. Sometimes excitement, sometimes apprehension, often a deep sadness for stepping away from one’s familiar life before we get settled into the rhythms of our new days. Most frequently the feelings are a mixture of all of the above- whether we recognize it or not. 

Typically moves require some preparatory downsizing. A hard look at what one really needs to carry with them into their new space, and a helping hand to share the work of releasing. Often this process looks more like a reminiscence, a revisiting of old friends before we send them on their way. Sometimes the choices are made through tears of gratitude or regret, sometimes through belly laughs that leak out our eyes. When we undertake a move for our parents, our elders, our clients or loved ones, not only are we packing and shifting their belongings, we are also shifting the ways that they belong in the world. 

A coffee mug is never just a coffee mug, and also… it is just a coffee mug. The mug sparks a moment of connection, a memory of belonging to a group, a job, an identity. But it is not the connection itself: that lives within us, and within our stories. The coffee mug will go on to new lives (perhaps even to be the mug of a TEA drinker!!); our old stories get woven into our new narratives. 

There is a joy in traveling light, and a sadness to it. Grief is not a bad thing - it shows us how deeply we have connected to a part of ourselves and to others. But in order to make space for something new, often a release is required. The letting go of uncompleted projects, unwritten cards, or unmade recipes precedes the arrival of new hobbies, new friendships, new cuisines to try. There is always a blend of grief and joy as we shift from one way of thinking about ourselves towards a different idea of who we are: that is part of being human. The pang of the last night spent in an old space blends with the thrill of stepping over the threshold into one’s new home. Replete with a new coffee mug.