The changing landscape of our lives

I recently changed the landscape around me by moving from north San Diego County to a delightfully wild area of the Arizona mountains near Prescott.  I am fortunately in the valley at 5,000 feet where the weather is warmer and the snow is an infrequent, delightful and transient visitor.  Decisions to physically move is an obvious change in our life landscape, but what about those insightful, aha moments that make our life appear so different than it did only moments before?  Many of these moments are so subtle that they may escape our attention and others are like a stick of dynamite that explodes right before our eyes and demands our attention.  Just when I think my life is on a steady course, an aha moment changes that course in a new direction toward uncharted territory and an adventure in discovery.  In the middle of the chaos that characterizes packing a house and moving 350 miles I had one of those aha moments, which was generated by my continuous quest for answers.  My diagnosis of Fibromyalgia has always raised questions for me as it may have for many of you too.  That unconscious part of my brain that works in the background, nags at me when pieces of a puzzle don't quite fit, and it prods me to keep asking
questions for which there have been few answers in the past 20 years.  That part of our brain that defies the conscious brain is the intuitive side working in the background and prompting us to pay attention to the nuances that are the key to our life mysteries.  Those keys are the true doors that lead to changes in our life's landscape.

My aha moment during this recent move was generated by my attention to the subtle, progressive decline in neurological function.  The symptoms are not outwardly apparent to most, but for me they are that stick of dynamite going off in my face and demands that I look deeper for answers that have eluded me for so long.    Finding a physician that is able and willing to listen to our stories is a difficult task at best and I have listened to so many tragic personal stories that lack the presence of an engaged physician.  Without the power of a physician's support we flounder so it is critical to find that single solitary doctor that will stand by our side and help us in this search for a definitive diagnosis.  A landscape change requires the sun, moon, planets and stars all align simultaneously!  But I am amazed at how often they do align and all the puzzle pieces may then fall into place.  I have found an Internal Medicine doctor that is willing to go that extra 100 miles with me . . . on foot.  This doctor is willing to listen to my story and help construct my life's puzzle so that my quality of life will be the best it can be.  And I am grateful to have this doctor that has willingly joined me as my life's landscape changes once again.  This may result in a significant landscape change for me, but it will go unnoticed by most around me.  It's so interesting how our life path leads to opportunities that result in critical aha moments.  If we are resistant to traveling a different path we may sabotage ourselves and forfeit the opportunity to change our life landscape.  To be open to other possibilities is what keeps us on a quest to be better today than we were yesterday.  I guess many times that is referred to as maturing.

Sid behind the wheel as our friend John assists with the backup

Thank you for your patience during this difficult move to Arizona and my aha moment that is sure to change more than my physical landscape.  Come to find out this move may be the key that will improve my quality of life, because answers to my nagging unconscious brain's questions may reveal themselves at last.  May you be well and blessings to you as you travel your life path, unlock those doors and cross those critical thresholds that define that path and your changing life landscape.