It was December 21, 2004 when I got into my car at my office in Kingston, Massachusetts in the morning and drove north followed by a moving van with furniture and two adjusting tables to take over a small practice in Livermore Falls, Maine. The fact that it was the winter solstice was coincidental and the farthest thing from my mind as I drove alone listening to the same John Mayer CD over and over while I spun perpetual “what-ifs” and “you must be nuts” conversations in my head. The voices in my head would quiet when Mayer’s song “Clarity” would replay and I’d gain momentary clarity and grounding. The transition in those first few days was quite bumpy, scary and uncomfortable, but I survived as we all do when shift happens. What got me through? The great people of my newly adopted community, my trusting and open new patients, and my loving family…most of all my sister who quite awesomely took great care of my former patients and excelled in her own right in solo practice. A wise mentor of mine talks frequently about times like these being analagous to “squeezing”, asking if an orange is squeezed and orange juice comes out, what comes out when we get squeezed? Luckily for me, ease, confidence and focus came out of me in the most stressful times thanks to the years of great coaching and study…I was amazed at the smart things that came out of my mouth and hands when meeting 35 strangers every day! It was exhausting, rewarding, frightening and joyful at the same time working with my new patients and getting to know them. Life was interesting socially also as a 30-something bachelor adapting to life in the boonies with only one old friend 20 miles away in my network. Not only did the practice and I survive, but we also thrived. Change is good.
In the ten years that have passed, the practice has doubled, I met and married the woman of my dreams, became step-father to two amazing young women (one of whom became a Chiropractor this August!) and have assimilated into a community that I can never imagine leaving. Together my wife and I have created the practice of my dreams, and I daily fulfill my purpose and passion through Neurologically Based Chiropractic. My connections to my former community are still strong and my old practice has thrived under my sister’s capable hands. There was most definitely divine intervention in my life changing move. What is your innermost innate voice telling you? What is holding you back from embracing that change and sparking a new direction in your life? The solstice demarks a change in season, a new beginning. I wish for you great changes, new beginnings, and a healthy and prosperous 2015.
