Checklist

Today is the day of your favorite wandering mystic's next move. For the last week, people have been asking, "Are you packed yet?" Well, when you own as little as I do, the process takes maybe an hour. The worst part of the process is the last five minutes, when there is a scattering of toiletries and scraps of paper and telephone messages lying on the floor, and I can't quite figure out what to do with them, so I just stuff them all into the closest tote bag, willy-nilly. I suspect for normal people with a normal move, the process involves tossing scattered final bits of furniture, bags and boxes into the moving van. Everything is relative.

I thought I'd share my little inner checklist of what to do before leaving any place, large or small, short-term or long-term. Perhaps it will help some of you with your next move:

• I touch base with the people I am closest with, have lunch with them, and let them know their presence meant a lot.
• "When in doubt"(if people are merely acquaintances), I just bless them and let go of feeling responsible to actively seek out their presence a final time.
• I send actual old-fashioned thank-you notes to anyone who has been particularly helpful or important in this phase of my life. 
• I change my address or do any bureaucratic stuff that I am ready to do. 
• I thank the house I've been in, and the person or people I've been with, face-to-face and with a hand-written note left behind. 
• This time, I bought all new 2017-2019 calendar, phone card, journal, and address book so I am literally starting afresh.
• I check that I have important papers, my purse, my computer, and my power cords.
• This time, I have also allowed myself to keep more books and other items than usual, to signal to the Universe that I'm ready to own more and find a more grounded situation. Some people might need to force themselves to get rid of more. It depends on what phase of life you are entering.
• Lastly, I spent a few minutes this morning simply being thankful for all aspects of my current step forward, with particular gratitude for my relative good fortune compared to residents of Puerto Rico and so many other places.

I have a few minutes of silence before getting my ride. I can hear people swishing through the fall leaves on the sidewalk, the screech of the garbage truck's brakes, cars hitting that pothole across the street, a leaf falling from the tree and loudly hitting the sidewalk. As I think I have mentioned, since I'm such a terrible meditator, listening to life's sounds and identifying them has become my version of that, and I am glad to have a few minutes of calm before I go. This definitely appears to be the end of the seven-year phase that started with bankruptcy in 2010-11, and I appreciate this lovely moment to inwardly wrap up the threads. The fall equinox seems to be a good day to move forward.