I'm in the process of closing my virtual assistance practice, and that meant I had to let some very beloved clients go. I spoke with each of them, quite tearfully, and we began the separation process. I thought that, other than the tactical piece of needing to find another VA, the decision to close my practice only shook up my life. I never would have thought my decision would have so much impact on others.
My client, a life coach, had a session with her life coach about my decision to leave and how it affected her. As a result, my client decided, after months of a strenuous and somewhat stressful book tour, that she would take the summer off and not enter into any projects or marketing until the fall. Then, her coach decided to cut back on what she was doing and relax. And then my client's husband started to entertain the thought of cutting his work back to 2/3 so that he and his wife could decide where they wanted to go and their upcoming goals.
Next step: a meeting with the rest of my client's team to discuss my departure. But before we could get to the nitty gritty details of handing off my responsibilities, I told them about Last Holiday (I know I refer to it ALL the time, but it had a huge impact on me), and we talked about the possibilities in our lives.
We even created a Groove space for our possibilities, things we could do, want to do, and would even create space for, if we could. We've all been journalling about our own possibilities and commenting and inquiring about each others'. It's been a cool, collaborative experience - going beyond the work we do together and shifting into the personal realm of our dreams.
I've been having fun with my possibilities, and I just need the space to pursue some of these, even if it's just in my imagination. Here's a sneak peek at mine:
- Write, write, write (duh!)
- Travel (the Atlantis is still my number one favorite destination)
- Take my daughters to the pool as often as I want
- Go to dinner with Lynn and Dick again
- Quilt (I'd love to enter one of my unfinished quilts in our local county fair this year. Deadline is August 11...)
- Open a metaphysical book store
- Take tennis lessons
- Sew curtains for my office
- Build a labyrinth in my back yard
- Get my masters in English
- Get a piglet
- Get a saltwater aquarium
While I may not do all of these things, it's fun, creative, and freeing to let my mind soar and to consider all possibilities. It also gives me a chance to discover what I really want in life. Sure, I'd love the end of result of having a beautiful, 100-gallon saltwater aquarium with coral and colorful fish, but I know I'm not willing to put in an hour a day to maintain such a thing.
Same thing with a piglet. In our research, we found that potbelly pigs get lonely, so there's something else that would require constant attention.
(Now, it's not that I don't want to be responsible, but if you've read my recent post on how ultra-responsible I already feel, you know that the last thing I need is more responsibility!)
So, I get the chance to dream ("To sleep, perchance to dream - ay, there's the rub.") and the space in which to do it - awake.
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