A Familiar Story

In talking with other people about their transition experiences, I noticed how often they described the experience as being like falling into a deep pit and struggling to get out, only to fall back down to the bottom over and over again. Some people described the walls of the pit as being slimy so that they could not get a grip on anything to climb out.  Others described the walls as being sandy, crumbling in their hands and not able to support them as they tried to climb out. Either way, they were stuck.

The little picture story below, although lighthearted and whimsical, tells a familiar transitioner’s tale. 

As the story begins, our traveler’s life journey is sunny and bright.

Then, storm clouds gather without warning. 

Our traveler is caught in the storm and zapped by lightning.

He/she is shocked and stunned, so he/she cannot see clearly or keep his/her equilibrium.

Our traveler loses his/her balance, stumbles….

and falls into a deep pit. It is a scary and lonely place. 

He/she tries to climb up the wall to get out of the pit but the walls just crumble….

and our traveler falls back down to the bottom – stuck in the pit!

Then, someone comes along and hears the traveler’s story.  As they talk, the person offers a different perspective on the situation.

They decide that using the crumbling soil to make a gradual incline might work better than trying to climb straight up the wall.

Sure enough, it works….

and our traveler is free to continue the journey again!

Story Art by
John Glass

Being zapped by a major change, losing our balance and then becoming stuck are all part of any transitioner’s story, but the story does not have to end with being stuck. With a different perspective, some support and encouragement, a willingness to try something new, hope and perseverance, even a difficult life transition story can have a happy ending.

 

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