There is something very special about being nearby, in a relationship with a lake when it unfreezes, as it’s doing now, this Spring in lake country where I’m living in Ontario.
Frozen over completely for months in the winter, there is a stillness on the lake unlike any other I know. Maybe this is what it’s like to be an ice cube in the drawer in that dark, dark corner? The lake in winter is so still: it’s not just an absence of activity but a substance.
Then one morning, there’s an opening in the ice. It’s a reminder that things are never just what we see on the surface. Impossibly, a small current of water, propelled by a spring being directed by nature in a far off place, is exhaling - carving the opening a few inches, then feet, each day.
Along the edges of the lake, curious things happen. As the ice melts, it reveals.
Unexpected shapes and textures emerge like forgotten blessings.
And then… the ice is gone. Watery once again, the transition from solid to liquid is complete.
When it comes to being human, we all know (and may we be forgiven for rolling our eyes at the fact) that change is constant.
Yet, I often find myself impatient with the “ing” part of change. ChangING from state A to state B. Being in state A - frozen - that’s fine. Arriving in state B - melted - awesome, even. But the bridge between those states - between ice and water, the meltING - I have not duly appreciated. This week, the lake showed me how much beauty, creativity, connection and learning there is in the ING-ing.
”The Sixth Symphony followed the Fifth, but without the Sixth we could not have had the Seventh. One cannot know what one is leading into. Transitions are as important as achievements.” - Louis Horst
Just as Beethoven was on the way to his Seventh symphony when he wrote his Sixth, whatever you are ING-ing right now, you are on the way to something.
If you’ve been feeling frozen, may you notice where there is movement - aka ‘life’ in your life, and allow that to carve out your own melting.
You have done hard things before, so many of them likely for others, therefore it stands to reason: you have what it takes to do the hard things in front of you for your next self.
I believe (rather ferociously) in you. You can do this melt-ing. As you do it, know that I think this is a terribly wonderful dissolution. Painful, with a small mountain of regret, and grief. And… there is so much life to live yet, this season, in the new open water. There is much joy to claim. Much good to create. Much contribution to sow.
Keep going.
Let’s keep going.
If you guessed I’m going through a freeze to melting season, you would be right! And it’s evident everywhere, not just in me or at the lake. As the ING-ing happens, I’ve been savouring:
this Pop Goes Classical playlist and the Daily Stoic podcast
framing - for the first time - my very own art series!
qigong and financial content with a sense of humour
this online art class (She uses a potato in class 3. What can I say? <3)
and of course, helping people do difficult things - which I should update here to let you know:
I am still coaching 1-on-1 (more info here) in short bursts (which I find most effective, not to mention economical) AND…
I am also ghostwriting, editing, and working with thoughtful people on their strategic IP.
This means speeches, teaching modules, grant proposals, and of course books. Do you have intellectual property that you could use a thinking partner for, the better to unfreeze, and get from state A to state B? Please be in touch. (Or read more here first.)
Interestingly, I’ve noticed that being in a personal ‘melting season’ makes me MORE, not less attuned, and MORE, not less bold as I step into my soul’s work in the world. Less in a rush, and somehow more committed.
Until next time,
Andrea
P.S. Teaching licenses. How to Share the Money in a Joint Venture is here. Pink Spoon Marketing is here.
Photo credit: Andrea’s iPhone
Lakes credit: Kawartha Lakes, ON
Proximity and view credit: thank you X 100 Sandy and Wayne