The Importance of Transitional Chapters

Let’s face it: there is nothing comfortable about transitional chapters in life.

They are the times of letting go of the old but not yet fitting the new.

They are uncomfortable, painful, uncertain and fluctuating.

They are also essential if you’re going to live a life free of regrets.

Doing that means being willing to let go of old parts of yourself and creating space for who your heart is calling you to be.

This call goes on for all of our lives.

You may be in your late eighties, but I can guarantee that life is still sending someone who triggers you, you still have yearnings (perhaps for more time in the garden and less feeling obliged to others), or some other lesson that requires you to stretch yourself uncomfortably.

We all go through discomfort.

It is resistance, sometimes to growth, sometimes to what is, sometimes to action that you know deep down you need to take (no matter how often you try to lie to yourself in opposition).

That’s where the transitional chapters come in.

They are for the brave. They are also for the not-so-brave.

The brave search them out by making conscious changes towards a different life.

The not-so-brave have those changes forced upon them.

Life loves you and doesn’t want to see you growing stagnant.

It knows you can never reach your potential that way.

It also knows that your capacity to receive joy and allow yourself a happy existence are dependent on you being cracked open. Only then can the light shine in.

So you either choose change or it is given to you when you’re not expecting it.

If you’re brave enough to choose it, you also have to ride out the in-between with patience and love.

If you’re not brave enough to choose it consciously, you will possibly go through the transitional chapter fighting it, rather than seeing it for the incredible role it is playing to support you.

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My latest transitional chapter lasted about two years.

They’re not a blip of a few weeks or months. They are an essential part of our journey.

When I moved from up north in Bundjalung country to the highlands of Anaiwan country, I let go of eight years of friendships, familiarities, and a lifestyle that had been shaped around that area.

I now live on 30+ acres of wilderness, far from the conveniences and pleasures I created up north. Instead, my pleasures have changed, like being aligned with the natural rhythm of the day, being surrounded by the wonder and randomness of the wildlife I share this space with, breathing some of the cleanest air on the planet, and having my nervous system exhaling with gratitude for the pace of life around me.

But it didn’t happen overnight. My old self grieved the friendships and ease I’d left behind. I made efforts for new friendships only to find them harder to develop, at least until I surrendered and the right people entered my life more naturally.

It took a long time to re-build my local support team, like finding the right lawn-moving person, dentist, mechanic and doctor. Developing relationships with other school and sports mums took time too. It was often uncomfortable with so many unknowns.

My creativity did go into over-drive, though, with new works of A Million Readers and The Purple Chair series coming into existence. I had to channel all that surplus energy into something healthy, after all! In that regard, it was a time of immense clarity due to not belonging in the past or future. (I love those offerings I created as they will always remind me of that time and what can come from transitions, even in the midst of them.)

At the same time as that was happening, the house-build was almost killing me emotionally and mentally. I was forced to let go of old stories in order to receive the flow that was waiting.

Sometimes, you don’t even know what the old stories are still to be healed until you dare to send yourself out on a limb, by risking security and comfort in search of the dream that calls.

All of this is a part of the transitional chapter. But the good news is that as it’s unfolding, you are indeed letting go of the old version of yourself and growing into the new.

Then when readiness and timing finally align (something I talk about much more in my book, Bloom), the next chapter lands.

Life now isn’t free of learning for me. It never is. But it is certainly in a place of flow and more joy. The person who that last chapter of transition called me to be fits this chapter of grounding and power I now stand in. I couldn’t get here overnight, though, like packing my car up and driving from one complete chapter into this one. I had to grow into it.

We all do.

Yet transitional chapters can be seen as inconveniences or treated with impatience, rather than with reverence for the incredible gifts they bring us. They are the times that actually shape us best, that reveal our deepest potential and fears, that ask the most trust from us, and carry us forward.

Never underestimate their role in your journey. They are not an inconvenience. They are one of the biggest gifts life will ever bestow upon you. They come with love to support the deepest yearnings of your heart. And that can’t be a bad thing.

The next vlog will be out Monday morning Sydney time, 31.3.25, or possibly Sunday night, 30.3.25, in your world. It’s been a very full month out here so there is lots to share.

The free 100 Prompts for No Regrets have all now been released. Thanks to you all who have left feedback or emailed in. It means a lot to know how they’ve supported you. Thank you also to all of you who comment here on this healthy platform of Substack or reply via email. I love you all and appreciate your feedback and connection. These newsletters remain as one of the favourite parts of my working life. Thank you for receiving them with your open and kind heart and for the time we share through them.

With love,

Bronnie.

PS. If you’re curious about the works that came through me during that transitional chapter, you can read more about A Million Readers or The Purple Chair on my website.

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