September is often the time of year when we think of moving on, perhaps to a new school, college or new course.  Obviously online courses run through the year with any starting point, and there are other times of year we find ourselves moving on for a whole host of reasons, with new jobs, homes etc, but I think for most of us, academic life is ruled by terms and years that start in September, so that’s where we are right now in this Blog.

Moving On

When moving on is a choice and when we are fully engaged in that process of looking forward, there’s excitement and anticipation.  Obviously there may also be some anxieties too around managing a lot of new and different things to get used to.  But that moving on process is forward looking to whatever new experiences, possibilities and learning lies ahead for us.

When moving on is forced on us in some way, either by the decisions of others, external circumstance, unexpected crisis, or a sudden ending such as bereavement, redundancy etc, then we are often inclined to be more backward looking, focussing on what we have lost and needing to grieve and work through that before we can even begin the process of moving forward and moving on.

But whatever brings us to that point, it’s not a static place is it?

It’s fluid, changing, developing.  And it’s both a beginning and an ending.

It’s very difficult to fully immerse ourselves in the new if we are still attached to the past.  So at some point, in order to embrace the future, we need to let go of the past.

But that point in the middle can be a bit scary.

Years ago I read a book that used an illustration of trapeze artists flying through the air from one trapeze to another.  At one single point for a brief moment, the trapeze artist lets go of one trapeze letting it drop back, in order to catch the new one coming forward to move on.

In order to catch that new trapeze, the artist has to let go of the first one.

So suspended in mid-air for a brief second is “the space in between” where the trapeze artist is holding on to nothing.  Scary.

Moving on involves trust, however we have reached that point.  Letting go of one trapeze requires trust that the next is coming at the exact right moment in time to move on.  There’s fear and hope together.

So whatever you may be moving on to in your life right now, my wish is that your fears will be released and your hopes will be fulfilled in what lies new ahead for you.