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FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | MAY 2024 49 Life After Loss Change and transition. Sadly, our society has often been guilty of confusing the two words. I too, had figured they were essentially interchangeable terms. How wrong I was. Throughout the past months of December – February, I have been reading the book Transitions (2019) by William Bridges. In his insightful book, he refers to the fact that the two words actually convey two very distinct ideas. On the one hand, "change" can be thought of as more the actual occurrence of the event itself. Something that is situational. For example, your past move to a new city or your shift to a new job. The birth of a new grandson son or granddaughter. The mid-life divorce, last year's sudden health crisis, or the tragic death of a spouse. Transition, on the other hand, can be thought of as more our inner adaptation to and internal processing of the event. In other words, transition is more psychological. Typically, it's the transition that eludes us, blindsides us, and perpetuates needless suffering. Furthermore, in the absence of a transition, a change, according to Bridges, is just a "rearrangement of the furniture" (p.viii); it is nothing more than a cosmetic adjustment. The author further suggests that all "transitions" are composed of three distinct phases: (1) an ending, (2) a neutral zone, and (3) a new beginning (p. 4). Many of us who have encountered loss, understand the sadness and shock of an "ending" while over time, we comprehend the idea of a "new beginning." What we overlook is what is encompassed in the "neutral zone" — the essence of a transition. Over the next four months from June to September, I will be developing a four-part series in the Breeze on the idea of transitions specifically as they relate to the idea of human loss. Each of the first three articles will seek to develop a subsequent phase of the concept of transition as mentioned above. Then, culminating in the month of September, I will conclude the series by seeking to weave the three previous articles into a unified whole that will aim to solidify our personal understanding into something that is experiential. Should you desire a deeper understanding of what it means to live a more meaningful "life after loss" we invite you to join us. *Bridges, W. (2019). Transitions: Making Sense of Life's Changes. New York, NY: Hachette Books. The Life After Loss Group is about "people helping people" who have encountered any form of grief/loss in their life. Unless otherwise notified, we meet in RCN Room #3, the first and third Mondays of each month from 1 pm to 3 pm. All information is kept confidential. If you have experienced a form of grief/loss and would like to join the group, please text/call Byron Thomsen beforehand at (909) 936- 7097 or email him at byron.thomsen@yahoo.com. ~ Byron omsen Happy spring, everyone! In "Believe…" Women's Bible Study we have been blessed to finish by mid-May the three books in the Bible that we have studied so far this year: Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. Although published in that order in the Bible itself, chronologically Esther occurred between the other two books, so it was a bit challenging to read about the Persian kings who were in power in all three books, as we studied them in published order. We sure learned a lot about biblical history and the incredible leaders that God called to accomplish His purposes. These books also focused on God's grace to those who were in a cycle of sin-repent-sin-repent. Once each crisis was over, they would backslide into sin once again, then plead with God to forgive and save them (which, in His infinite grace, mercy, wisdom, and love, He would do consistently), until they cycled back to sin once again. It appears from studying these three books that even suffering God's punishment of being taken captive, when freed from captivity they still repeated the same cycle. When we finish studying the Book of Esther in mid- May, we will study the Book of James in the New Testament. From there we will volley from the New Testament to the Old Testament and back several times before the end of 2024. If any of you beautiful Four Seasons women would be interested in joining a wonderful group of truly amazing Christian women to study God's Word together, please stop by The Lodge Game Room any Friday from 10:30 to 11:45 to study with us. We will be patiently waiting for you to join us! ~ Eileen Gilbert-Antoine, (951) 922-6829 or egcellent@msn.com "Believe …" Women's Bible Study

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