Life Changes

“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” ~ John F. Kennedy

My dad used to say that the only sure thing in life was change. There was no getting around that, so we might as well get used to it.

Today I embrace a big change in my life, my retirement. For several years I have wanted to retire from formal teaching at the college, but I didn’t want to leave them in the lurch with no one to take over my classes. Fortunately as I’ve written here before, my friend, Dave Dahl, came along and since he’s now fully qualified to take over, I feel comfortable leaving. I celebrate his talent and enthusiasm. My enthusiasm is heading in a much different direction.

The moment I saw that the dramatic structure class I had agreed to teach one last time was canceled, I felt a rush of relief. I’m free. I don’t have to adhere to the school schedule anymore. Once Barry is retired, we can pick up and go whenever we want. And my full attention and energy can now be concentrated on my creative projects. That makes me so happy on the one hand. On the other I was looking forward to teaching dramatic structure again because I love talking about stories. I will get to do that with my Patreon Community, but it’s not very large yet and my patrons are quite busy this summer promoting their book, artwork and such. 

But, teaching must be part of my life’s purpose because as I was waiting for students to sign up for my class, I came across a course at Mindvalley, that teaches people how to build online courses. I was hooked. I’ve been thinking about creating an online course for quite some time, but I didn’t know how to do it. Now, I’m learning all the steps you have to go through to create a dynamic online course, filming the segments, finding a platform on which to sell it, and how to promote and market it.

What am I teaching? Of course, the class will be about how to analyze stories so that you can use what you learn in your real life. In essence, I’m teaching what my father taught me all those years ago and have used over and over in every class I’ve taught that involves stories. It’s my belief that stories are one of the oldest teaching tools. They were used even before writing was invented. It’s a fun way to learn, and if the story is told well, we connect with it emotionally and see people and the world around us in new ways.

Those are not the only changes that have been happening in my life. After our trip to the Pacific Northwest in July, I want to stay connected to my family better. I’ve been a horrible correspondent. I’d like to create the 21st Century equivalent of the hand written letter exchange. My father-in-law writes a weekly email letter about what he and my mother-in-law have been up too. That’s great, but if I do that, I don’t just want it to be a one way exchange. I want to hear what everyone else is doing too. I know, I could just call, but I can’t see photos during a phone call. Social media is fine, but there are things I don’t feel like sharing on platforms that anyone can access. So, Barry has indicated that there might be a platform that would be private and both sides of our family can subscribe and share. I like that idea. 

So, as the summer winds down and Barry and I are preparing to celebrate our 42 anniversary, I’m grateful that change happens. Wouldn’t it be boring if we had to live the same day over and over again? Hmm, maybe that’s what the movie Groundhog Day is trying to tell us. Even in that story, Bill Murray’s character gets bored and begins to find ways to vary the events of the day he keeps reliving until finally he gets the lesson he’s supposed to learn.

What changes are you embracing right now? Or are you frustrated by being stuck. Not to worry, nothing stays the same forever.

Blessings to you all.

Lucinda Sage-Midgorden © 2022

The Space Between Time

Lucinda is the author of The Space Between Time, an award finalist in the “Fiction: Fantasy” category of the 2017 Best Book Awards.

Have you ever experienced life shattering events? Yeah, after the last few years, most of us have. In The Space Between Time, Jenna Holden gets slammed by her fiancé walking out, her mother’s untimely death, and losing her job all in one week. But she receives unexpected help when she finds her three-times great-grandmother’s journals and begins the adventure of a lifetime.

The Space Between Time is available in all ebook formats at Smashwords and for Kindle at Amazon, or you can find the ebook at iBooks or Barnes and Noble. If you prefer a physical copy, you can find a print-on-demand version at Amazon. Stay tuned for news when the audiobook version is published.

Lucinda is also the host of Story-Power a podcast where she and her guests discuss their creative endeavors, and/or the stories that have changed their lives. It’s available here on Sage Woman Chronicles and on Apple, Google, and Spotify podcast apps. Please rate and leave a review. It helps people find me.

Patreon

I’m so passionate about stories that I created the Story-Power podcast and Patreon communities so I’d have an excuse to talk story with other story lovers. If you’re passionate about stories too, and want to talk about what you’ve learned from your favorites, come join me at patreon.com/StoryPower.

PodMatch

If you are a podcaster, or have a message or fantastic product you want to share with the world, I encourage you to check out PodMatch. Use the affiliate link and tell them, Lucinda sent you. Then contact me so we can set up a Story-Power chat.