Moving Home

I have developed some survival techniques during the past few months to protect myself from too many probing questions. Especially questions that reflect another's fear for what I am planning - and acting on. My response to any well-meaning friend who wishes to investigate all the inevitable problems that can arise when making a change is "Stop right there!" I know that if I don't focus on what is good and positive my fear will freeze me and prevent me from moving on. I recognise that these friends mean well, but often it is their fear and not mine. And believe me, I have enough fears of my own without collecting any more.

Yes, making changes, huge changes. Moving house, moving place, changing way of living. Not much change on one level, a lot on another. At first it all happened very rapidly. My sister, Jeanne, and I decided to sell up and find somewhere we could run residential retreats and courses. And somewhere big enough that would allow growth if others wishes to join us and start living in community. We found somewhere after a lot of driving round Devon, Cornwall and Wales. After lengthy negotiations - and ensuring that both our own properties were under offer, a prerequisite demanded by the vendor - our offer on the property that would suit our purpose was accepted. We were underway, with a move planned for early May. Even though the vendors of our desired property had wished for an earlier completion.

What they hadn't done was find anywhere for them to move to. A slight oversight if ever there was one! They had demanded that we both had our properties under offer before they would negotiate. Which we did, well, our estate agents did. Then when we started to be pushed by our purchasers into naming a completion date we realised that the vendors of the Welsh place had nowhere to go. We offered to look after their sheep, suggested they rent to give them more flexibility. But flexibility was not what they desired.

On realising that these vendors, who had told us that they wished to move in March and had baulked at our more realistic suggestion of May would not be ready to move by June, at the earliest, we started to reflect on whether they really wished to move at all. Our decision was to move our completion dates back to the end of May. Something we regretted and also our purchasers, they had wished to move before then. Instead, we will rent somewhere when our properties have been sold and start the hunt all over again.

Any major change will attract obstacles. They are a gift, making us dive deeper into our own intentions and purpose. So here we go: China this week - and where at the end of May? Does anyone have a wee flat, house or cottage we can rent whilst we start looking again? Would be two careful tenants.