Saying goodbye to a place.

Lately, I've been up in Seattle helping my mom get her condo ready to sell.

It's a big job, and it's very sentimental for me, because Seattle is where I grew up, where I went to school, where I lived until I was 28. 

In other words... I know that town. 

I know the Space Needle and Ballard Locks and the troll-under-the-bridge.
I know Gas Works Park and Greenlake and that secret back road near University Village. 
I know Matthews Beach and Golden Gardens and the Ferry Terminal. 
I know Nordstrom and Uwajimaya and Pike Place Market: when I worked downtown, I ate there every day.

A lot of memory, held in that city. 
And with my mom moving to a new place, it's likely I won't be in Seattle very often again. 

There's a sense of loss, but there's also a sense of appreciation.

For even as I help my mom, I'm also experiencing a life review of all those years, in which I was a part of that place: who I was, what I was doing, what I was learning. 

A lot of you are having this experience now, as you help out your older parents. Returning to old places, and feeling all the feelings that arrive. 

From soul perspective, this is a soul lesson in which we are asked: 

To remember it all. 
To hold all of it with love. 
To allow all emotions. 
To feel everything fully. 
To detach from clinging and grasping. 
And to trust, that more joy is even in this moment, winging its way toward us.