The Wrinkly Beat: Transition
By Brenda Laurel, PhD
In childbirth, there is a moment between labor and pushing that is called “transition.” The mother’s body is moving from regular uterine contractions to a moment when it needs to adjust and prepare for the baby to emerge. Transition is a tumultuous and, for many, painful time. It’s when some mothers say, “Stop, just stop. I changed my mind.” Transition can be quick or slow, but once a mother is past it, birth usually proceeds rather athletically, even ecstatically, as the baby makes its way into the world. And after the birth, all of the pain of transition is gone. Things can go wrong in transition that lead to tragic consequences. But generally speaking, at the end of it all, there is likely a new being with ocean eyes and a vast future.
I use childbirth as an example because it seems so similar to what we are going through now. There is a chance that, when this pandemic is finally over, things will be disturbing and painful for a good while. But that’s transition for you. Pushing, on the other hand, is when one can see the light at the end of the birth canal, as it were, and when one may actually be clear enough to celebrate the little person coming along into the world. Even those who have not given birth may resonate with the journey I just described.
Humanity and Gaia are at the beginning of transition now. Things are disturbing, dangerous, and painful, engendering stress and fear. We look at the “models” — which change daily — and see a more or less dreadful time ahead. Beyond the pandemic, climate change will also contribute to dislocation, migration, pain, and violence. We knew before this pandemic came that we were in for some trouble.
It seems to be a good time to turn our intentions in meditation to finding guiding visions that will help us all to manifest a good world after this transition. As we pass through the tangled wood on our way to the future, which paths will open for us and which will we choose? What good visions of a new world can we hold space for in our hearts?
Brenda Laurel is an independent scholar with 40+ years in higher education and computer games. She is author of Computers as Theatre, 2nd Ed. 2014.
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