"Change can come at any time, but transition comes along when one chapter of your life is over and another is waiting in the wings to make its entrance.” William Bridges
Transition is the way we reconcile with change. Without transition change is empty, mechanical and most important superficial – not meaningful. Transition is a three-way process of letting go … taking hold again and the place in-between: the neutral zone. It is a time of natural confusion but potentially a time of great creativity.
Truly living transitions can deepen a person's or school’s relationship both to the self and to the personal history that has created that self or organization. The invitation is to open the self/organization to the possibilities that come with change. It's a good time to reflect on the meaning of community and community transitions – an opportunity to achieve a new understanding of everything that has gone before, and what it means moving forward.
No matter how solid and comfortable and necessary the status quo feels to us, it is good to recollect that once upon a time it was also new, untried and uncomfortable. And while change can happen quickly and be unbidden, transition takes time. It’s an organic process that has its own natural pace. If change is all about where we are going, then transition is about how we will get there and how we will navigate and manage our journey, about who we will become, and about which approach we will embrace.
The North Wind and the Sun
The North Wind boasted of great strength. The Sun argued that there was great power in gentleness.
"We shall have a contest," said the Sun.
Far below, a man traveled a winding road. He was wearing a warm winter coat.
"As a test of strength," said the Sun, "Let us see which of us can take the coat off of that man."
"It will be quite simple for me to force him to remove his coat," bragged the Wind.
The Wind blew so hard, the birds clung to the trees. The world was filled with dust and leaves. But the harder the wind blew down the road, the tighter the shivering man clung to his coat.
Then, the Sun came out from behind a cloud. Sun warmed the air and the frosty ground. The man on the road unbuttoned his coat.
The sun grew slowly brighter and brighter.
Soon the man felt so hot, he took off his coat and sat down in a shady spot.
"How did you do that?" said the Wind.
"It was easy," said the Sun, "I lit the day. Through gentleness I got my way."
