A Life Disruption - "Awesome!"

At last week's yoga class, the teacher - Elizabeth - discussed the idea of disruption:

"It can be a new job, a death, or even having a child. A disruption is a life-changing event. It's interesting when you're with a group of yogis and they're sharing their disruptions. Someone will mention a terrible thing that happened to them, and you'll get the occasional yogi who says, 'Awesome!' Of course, everyone wonders, 'Why would they say that?!' But when you have a disruption in your life, that person knows it's a chance for you to grow...and let go of the previous lifestyle you were hanging on to."

I thought about that and my life with dancing in Wisconsin. I made dancing the focus of my life, putting it above almost everything else...including my own personal well-being. Furthermore, while I didn't practice consistently after I left team, I still held onto the mentality of dancing being the only thing that mattered. It wasn't until I came to Tucson and experienced several disruptions at once (geographically, socially, economically, mentally, physically) that I was forced to put dancing aside, evaluate my life, and take a deep look at who I - Amy Jennings - truly was. Without dancing. I don't think I need to tell all of you about the difficult process I went through, because many of you were reading about it right along with me.

Anyway, that occasional "Awesome!" yogi is right - disruption is a chance to grow. "When you encounter a disruption, it will bring you closer to the truth about yourself," Elizabeth finished, and I couldn't agree more. A disruption causes us to face ourselves and maybe realize that something we valued and depended on in the past now hinders us. We then get to break away from the old and see how we "learn to fly" in a time of difficulty and change. A side of us or a talent that we never took time to develop might emerge, like knitting or teaching. Or maybe a loss in one part of our lives will give us the time to serve someone or something else. We might never have learned these things if we didn't experience a break in our comfortable lives. I know I can say that my non-competing/Tucson-living disruption period let me grow in several directions, such as:

*meeting and learning from people from several walks of life
*exploring digital media (photography and video)
*studying yoga
*learning to be healthy and take care of myself (an on-going process)
*hanging out with middle school students while photographing their parks and rec activities
*working in a sushi restaurant
*creating a blog about living in Arizona and venturing out on your own
*learning to fix up a bike
*trying argentine tango and lindy hop
*making friends
*learning about building and breaking relationships (another on-going process)

Since I've let go of dancing - and a hindering mind-set I clung to - I've learned so much about life and myself. Now a door has opened for ballroom again, and after going through all kinds of self re-evaluation and trying new things, I'm ready to step through it with a healthier mindset -- something I wasn't ready for a few months ago. If you're going through a disruption right now, I can empathize with you on the difficult experience. Take heart, though, when I say, "Awesome!"...because it's what you will be when you arrive on the other side :).