Does your life seem like a blur? Were your children babes in arms yesterday, grown and gone today? Are you searching for something but don’t know what? Do days go by but you don’t know where they went?
Is your empty nest the problem? Or is it simply you have no plan for your future. Many adults face these questions from time to time but they have nothing to do with your age. However, the closer an adult gets to children leaving home the more they look back instead of forward and the more questions arise about how to deal with the emptiness in their world.
Leaving the Nest
There are other times in your life that you face such dilemmas. Sometimes it comes the first time you leave home and go off to college or get married. Then you had the empty nest syndrome in reverse. You left and everything you knew as loving and secure stayed behind. But because you had this wonderfully exciting new life ahead, your plan, you focused on the future not the past.
Perhaps the next time was when you left work to begin your family. Again you left a stable environment for another major change. You are thrust into the role of parent balancing being a spouse, caring for a house and now caring for an infant 24/7 that depends on you solely for its every need, life itself. But again, you were looking forward and preparing for the many aspects of parenting. You had a plan for the future.
Where are you today in the time line? Do you have a plan? How many more of these events do you want to experience before you create a plan? Will a plan using Feng Shui’s positive energy methods make a difference in your life? ABSOLUTELY YES! Is a plan hard to create … DEFINITELY NOT! It’s as easy as creating a shopping list.
Create Your Empty Nest Plan
Begin by creating a shopping list only what you are shopping for is the rest of your life; not food, clothes or home furnishings but for your future; what and who you want to be. No, you can’t put high school prom queen, football star or No. 1 cheerleader on your list. You do need to realistic about your stage in life. But you can put every single thing on the list that quickly comes to mind that you might like to do or places you might like to go. For example, perhaps you’ve always admired Monet’s art and would love to paint like him, put it on your list. Or, you might like to just see his studio and home where he created those magnificent lily canvases. Put traveling to his home on your list. Or, if you love Yo Yo Ma’s music and you wish you could play like he does or go to one of his concerts, put it on your list. Or, maybe you’ve always wanted to learn how to tap dance, ride a horse, be an archer, scuba dive, knit, sew or sculpt. Put them all on your list.
Make this list as long as you can in one setting. Go back to it later; read it to see if you have anything more to add or remove. Now, take your list and numerically rank each item in order of importance, making No. 1 your top priority. Once you have ranked them, choose no more than two.
Next, make a shopping list to accomplish the item/s you chose. At the top of the list write the name of the thing you most wish to do in your life at this point in time. Now, create your list for how you are going to accomplish it. Do you need to take lessons, do you need to make travel arrangements, do you need to find an instructor or supplies … put them all on your shopping list. Anything that needs to be done to accomplish your simple plan should go on your list. You have just created your empty nest plan. Your life is no longer a blur; life is not passing you by because your nest is empty. You are in control and you now have a plan.
Take charge of your life and shop for your future. Select carefully what you are going to do, when and where. Then do it. Well meaning friends are going to suggest millions of things to take up your time. Should you sign up for a series of classes just to please your friends? Absolutely not … this is your dream and your plan.
The empty nest syndrome is the result of not having a plan for your life after the children leave home. You need to create your plan and then do it. Otherwise, one year from now you will be in the same place, doing exactly the same thing, your life will continue to be a blur and your heart will continue ache because you are looking back not forward. By creating a plan you have energized you and your empty nest so you can look forward with anticipation to your future.
Download “Energize Your Empty Nest” in PDF Format.
© Pat Heydlauff, All Rights Reserved
Pat Heydlauff, president of Energy Design, uses Feng Shui design principles to eliminate chaos and stress at home and within oneself. More than a Feng Shui expert, Pat is a consultant and speaker who helps remove clutter and negativity while encouraging personal growth, improved relationships and prosperity. Her new book, “Feng Shui: So Easy a Child Can Do It,” shows how to achieve a better tomorrow. For information on her consulting, speaking and artwork, call: 561-408-2708.
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