Life Transitions

The year 2020 was unique in that the entire population of the United States experienced a near-simultaneous, dramatic life transition.  No one’s life was unaffected by the spread of COVID-19.  Typical life transitions – breakups, marriages, births, deaths, graduations, empty-nesting, job changes, new illnesses, an accident, retirement, or moving – were interrupted, accelerated, or happened in due course, but in extraordinary circumstances.   COVID-19 itself, the life-threatening, contagious illness, shot forth a thousand impacts in every area of life – social, political, economic, and beyond.  The pandemic added additional layers of challenges atop these transitions.  Under typical circumstances, a life transition can bring unsettling feelings.  A transition is just that – a resettling – a movement to something new.  When life begins to look different, it is normal to feel differently in kind.  Like an earthquake transforming the landscape of a valley, a life transition provides an opportunity to survey and assess the new environment and decide how to build anew.