Living your Transition Story

Transitioning to a more local life is like creating a story . . .		Get the monthly RR update! Email Address:

Two stories run through the culture. One's about continual growth and ascendancy. It's mainstream culture's story, the everyday world we're familiar with. The other is the as yet little known tale of radical change and descent as we enter a time of necessary simplification - reskilling, retooling, relocalizing. The two stories compete out there in the public conversation of course but also in us and our closest personal relationships. Creating a better one for ourselves is challenging . . . and possible. Some thoughts on creating a new story It's part of the old story that another can tell you how to do it. The reality is that we find our own way in our own time. Advice from others can stop us from listening to ourselves. Your tale will likely be in part a tale of descent and challenge . . . probably not a frothy comedy though I hope it will have its moments. It's likely to involve courage and sacrifice as individuals like you and I break through our isolation and imagined limits to do something new - probably with others Stories aren't about perfection. It's about imagining a story that we like better, tweaking it as we move closer to it, lean into it and start to live it. It has elements of fantasy as we imagine what can work but what's already happening is quite fantastic already!. It's valuable if you can find a place to share stories with others in person. It makes your own story so much more real. Part of my own story is that I offer tools, encouragement and support via this site and some local initiatives A story is useful when you know it's just a story. Then you can create it how you want. . Here are some ways to make your transition story happen. Play with a Transition Storybook, a doodle pad mindmap that allows you to outpicture story elements you want. Or you could write a page on the future you want to see what comes. (Just let it come best as you can - don't think too much and get something down. Getting something down that excites you doesn't have to be the final thing though it will probably have strong elements of what actually happens). Do one action a day that will take you closer to making you want. No guilt if you don't get this done but if you don't have a sense of momentum and success, consider getting some new input: a book, process, or coaching. Something probably needs a little shaking up. Make it playful. Expect your story to surprise you by being more moving, dynamic and uncapturable than you thought. Expect it to have a "shadow" something you don't see well or clearly, a problem or crisis or big challenge. Allow it since it'll be a part of your story anyway. Create clarity around what you want, a clear place for your future to approach and modify it as you do. "If you build it, they will come." I often don't see the extent to which the future is in my hands, how great is my ability to authorize what I want. How about you? You have full permission to dream big. Click here for support options as you create your own transition. Sign up for the monthly update to get tips and hear transition stories, how other folks are doing it.. Toss some raw organic matter onto the compost (a.k.a. comment) heap here.

Radical Relocalization