One could say that there is more to moving house than moving house. There is the physical process of decluttering, selling or discarding whatever you don’t want to take to your new place, there are all the financial negotiations necessary to ensure that all legal requirements have been met. Many decisions have to be made along the way. |
Some of these decisions include choosing an agent, establishing the price you would like for your house, how you are going to present it, what needs to be repaired, painted, replaced, etc.
One of the biggest decisions is where are you going to? Are you staying in the same area or will you be moving to a totally new location? Will you be needing a bigger or a smaller house?
In many countries people remain their entire lives in one house or village. Here in Australia people generally are very mobile, relocating a number of times in their lives depending on where work takes them, or moving to be with a partner, look after an aged parent, or for a change of climate, or a lifestyle choice.
In our 70’s my husband and I have moved from our semi-rural property to a suburban house in the city. Friends have asked us how would we like living in suburbia after having the space and natural beauty of a country house? Now we are settling into our new home, and how is it? We are closer to our immediate families, there are supermarkets and shops close by, there are many new places to explore for walking, there are neighbours to get to know, new friends to make and communities to connect with. Driving through suburban streets is different from narrow country lanes with potholes, and the GPS is a good friend to assist with navigation. I appreciate the flow of traffic, the planning that has gone into the roadwork, parks and shopping centres.
I have always loved change, whether it is a new job, or new house or new location.
Change brings new opportunities for expansion and adaptability, for being open to whatever presents to be accessed, enjoyed and lived.
One great new opportunity that was unexpectedly presented to us was when a friend sold her house and we offered her a place to stay. There are now three of us living in the house. None of us planned this to happen, it feels like it was planned for us. For each of us there is the opportunity to expand whatever pictures we may have held, and to enjoy how a threesome can live harmoniously together. We often walk together in the morning, two of us may go shopping, one or two of us may prepare dinner. We don’t have any rosters for cleaning, washing, shopping or cooking, or separate compartments in the fridge to say ‘this is mine’. It is for each of us to establish our natural rhythm and flow each day and take responsibility for our part in communicating and maintaining harmony. We can and do support each other in practical and soul-full ways every day. We have enjoyed welcoming our friends in common as well as each other’s family and friends who have visited or stayed with us. Our ‘extended family’ keeps expanding!
These last months have been a period of grace where we have all been able to settle and develop our daily rhythms.
This morning and every morning I am greeted at the start of the day with a joyous chorus of birds, in fact many more birds than we had around our country house. Their orchestra supports me to feel invigorated and alert, to want to get out of bed and move into the day with a sense of what is on offer today. Walking early in the morning has become a daily ritual, and we are discovering different places to walk – around the local streets, to the botanical gardens not far away, or through the parks that are built along the esplanade at the ocean.
The remainder of the day changes every day, it may involve grocery shopping, cooking, doing some exercises, sharing a healing session, spending time with friends, conversations with each other, swimming in the pool before dinner, reading or listening to an audio, watching a video, sitting outside under the stars before bed. In the evenings the birds are flying back into their favourite trees and their chatter dies down as they settle for the night, which reminds us to wind down from the day.
How do I feel about my new life? The change of house, of location, the ‘newness’ of everything, feels like expansion in the body. The body has been relocated, and how is it responding to the change? As we settle more into the new house, get our bearings and establish a rhythm to each day, the body also adapts and settles. What I am realising is that as we age, life doesn’t have to be condensed into a picture of how it will be.
The next stage is revealing itself to me as I have been offered new work opportunities which I am about to begin.
Letting go of pictures of what ‘old age’ looks like opens the door to enrichment, expansion, adaptability, new learning.
How we live each day will determine our future. How we are with each other, the harmony and love between us will support our quality of life – our state of health and wellbeing. We can be three separate beings all doing our own thing, or we can be one harmonious relationship that is true family. Our bodies, when listened to and honoured, will be cared for in a way that sustains and nurtures the inner life, the inner life that deepens and brings forth our true natural wisdom to be shared with all.
So, don’t be afraid of growing old, of winding down and becoming invisible. Stay in the driver’s seat and know that your path is strewn with riches that unfold from within.
Bernadette C., Australia
If you enjoyed this article you may also like to read:
Never Too Old
One of the biggest decisions is where are you going to? Are you staying in the same area or will you be moving to a totally new location? Will you be needing a bigger or a smaller house?
In many countries people remain their entire lives in one house or village. Here in Australia people generally are very mobile, relocating a number of times in their lives depending on where work takes them, or moving to be with a partner, look after an aged parent, or for a change of climate, or a lifestyle choice.
In our 70’s my husband and I have moved from our semi-rural property to a suburban house in the city. Friends have asked us how would we like living in suburbia after having the space and natural beauty of a country house? Now we are settling into our new home, and how is it? We are closer to our immediate families, there are supermarkets and shops close by, there are many new places to explore for walking, there are neighbours to get to know, new friends to make and communities to connect with. Driving through suburban streets is different from narrow country lanes with potholes, and the GPS is a good friend to assist with navigation. I appreciate the flow of traffic, the planning that has gone into the roadwork, parks and shopping centres.
I have always loved change, whether it is a new job, or new house or new location.
Change brings new opportunities for expansion and adaptability, for being open to whatever presents to be accessed, enjoyed and lived.
One great new opportunity that was unexpectedly presented to us was when a friend sold her house and we offered her a place to stay. There are now three of us living in the house. None of us planned this to happen, it feels like it was planned for us. For each of us there is the opportunity to expand whatever pictures we may have held, and to enjoy how a threesome can live harmoniously together. We often walk together in the morning, two of us may go shopping, one or two of us may prepare dinner. We don’t have any rosters for cleaning, washing, shopping or cooking, or separate compartments in the fridge to say ‘this is mine’. It is for each of us to establish our natural rhythm and flow each day and take responsibility for our part in communicating and maintaining harmony. We can and do support each other in practical and soul-full ways every day. We have enjoyed welcoming our friends in common as well as each other’s family and friends who have visited or stayed with us. Our ‘extended family’ keeps expanding!
These last months have been a period of grace where we have all been able to settle and develop our daily rhythms.
This morning and every morning I am greeted at the start of the day with a joyous chorus of birds, in fact many more birds than we had around our country house. Their orchestra supports me to feel invigorated and alert, to want to get out of bed and move into the day with a sense of what is on offer today. Walking early in the morning has become a daily ritual, and we are discovering different places to walk – around the local streets, to the botanical gardens not far away, or through the parks that are built along the esplanade at the ocean.
The remainder of the day changes every day, it may involve grocery shopping, cooking, doing some exercises, sharing a healing session, spending time with friends, conversations with each other, swimming in the pool before dinner, reading or listening to an audio, watching a video, sitting outside under the stars before bed. In the evenings the birds are flying back into their favourite trees and their chatter dies down as they settle for the night, which reminds us to wind down from the day.
How do I feel about my new life? The change of house, of location, the ‘newness’ of everything, feels like expansion in the body. The body has been relocated, and how is it responding to the change? As we settle more into the new house, get our bearings and establish a rhythm to each day, the body also adapts and settles. What I am realising is that as we age, life doesn’t have to be condensed into a picture of how it will be.
The next stage is revealing itself to me as I have been offered new work opportunities which I am about to begin.
Letting go of pictures of what ‘old age’ looks like opens the door to enrichment, expansion, adaptability, new learning.
How we live each day will determine our future. How we are with each other, the harmony and love between us will support our quality of life – our state of health and wellbeing. We can be three separate beings all doing our own thing, or we can be one harmonious relationship that is true family. Our bodies, when listened to and honoured, will be cared for in a way that sustains and nurtures the inner life, the inner life that deepens and brings forth our true natural wisdom to be shared with all.
So, don’t be afraid of growing old, of winding down and becoming invisible. Stay in the driver’s seat and know that your path is strewn with riches that unfold from within.
Bernadette C., Australia
If you enjoyed this article you may also like to read:
Never Too Old