Interregnum: In Between States

Another way to think of a time of transition is of an interregnum. Historically the period of time between the reign of one monarch and the next, an interregnum is a metaphor for a time of being in between "states".

An interregnum can be thought of as a gap or pause that emphasizes the transitional relationship between what came before and what comes next in a sequence. States or things (or spaces) are reconfigured, recalibrated, reset to begin anew.

I think these pauses are important in personal terms as well, and so I am taking my own little interregnum, at a workshop retreat in the hills of Brown County during the next couple of days. We'll be without laptops, cell phones, and other electronic devices, but have been asked to bring pens, paper and yoga mats. I'm looking forward to this pause, and will return to composing elenabella on Friday. In the meantime, don't go away – thanks to the magic of scheduled postings, I will have some treats for you each day!

Transition Time, Transition Team

It's the first of December, the last day of the amazing year 2008. I tend to love this month, as it marks the moment when the old meets the new. The old year winds down with a huge extended embrace of collective excess, then switches into the austerity of the "new."

So it is a time of transition, and Obama is building his transition team. He is setting a good example, I think, surrounding himself with people with expertise and experience. (And yes, I think Hillary will do an excellent job.) If you go to the website on the transition process, you will find both Prune and Plum jobs. (Who gets to choose the names of these categories, I wonder, and can I have that job?)

I've been thinking about all of this in personal terms as well. Who is on your transition team, as we segue into the new era? Do you have a team of advisers on issues of personal security, health, education and welfare, economics, peace keeping, diplomacy, transportation, and commerce? How about central intelligence? Hmmm...time to assemble a team.