I am in a bedroom by the sea. It is early morning. Dawn emerges from the mist on the Northern California coast. The light begins to outline the plum tree outside the window in the gray stillness. The rush of the heater murmers in the next room. I bring my coffee from the kitchen and set it on the bedside table.

How many transitions brought me to this place?

"Ineffable, incapable of being expressed in words,"  from Ask and It is Given, preface by Jerry Hicks.

As I consider this, I think of life transitions in general, of the teachers that bring us into those transitions.

Often when we are changing and facing life challenges, our story unfolds without thought. We are led from one stage to another, without words to guide us.

It is only in looking back that we see where we have been.

The next available quiet moment that you have, think about where you are in relation to where you were 5 years ago, or 10. How many transitions and changes in your life, led you to this moment?

Bring that coffee to the table beside you, and write about it.

Here are some exercises that can help you.

Take 5 minutes, write 5 things you remember that happened last week, any memory.

Take the next 5 minutes, write 5 things you remember from your childhood.

Review your lists. What jumps out at you? Why those memories? Are they tied together in any ways? How are they the same? How are they different?

Write about this.