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Transitions are not only an opportunity for personal growth but also essential if life is to be lived in its fullness. They can be difficult to make but doing so yields many benefits. The questions a transition might provoke can provide the catalyst for making the internal shift that is part of the work of a transition.

If a person finds that what used to give pleasure and meaning in life no longer does, this can be an indication that there has been an internal shift of interest or change of heart. One might feel a sense of confusion, of being lost, of coping with life rather than being passionate about it.

Sometimes the beginning of the transitional process is subtle. The job, which used to give meaning, no longer does. The relationship used to give one life, becomes that which drains energy. This may be a movement in one's stage of development. To stay in a life stage, job, or relationship where one no longer belongs can destroy one's spirit and energy for living. If one is to honor oneself and live, something needs to change in order to live it with passion.

William Bridges in his book, "The Way of Transition," identifies three parts of a transitional provess. First, one must let go of the past. There needs to be closure before there can be a movement into something new. Often people do not know what the something will be. They are then in the second stage of the process, the "neutral zone." This stage suspends on in an in-between time, a suspended time. While it can be emotionally difficult, it can also be rich in its discovery of who one is, what one values, and what gives meaning. The third part is the embracing of the new life choice.

The above formula for making a transition seems simple enough but people and families are complex. They often get stuck in some phase of the process. Some are able to work things out for themselves but many find it beneficial to seek help. There may be a need for grieving, for letting go of something, for growing in appreciation of self, for listening to one's heart and honoring what is heard. The question that Mary Oliver poses to all of us in her poem, "The Summer Day," is all of ours: "Tell me, what is it that you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"