I think a big part of living a life that consistently moves you forward is tapping into personal sources of renewable energy. By that, I mean engaging in actions and material goods positively, causing your source of energy to expand naturally without taking away from something else. The energy I’m talking about is not necessarily measured financially, although it often can be, as illustrated by earning interest on a savings account or getting a dividend for owning shares in a company.

This idea really hit home for me on Monday when a good friend asked if I was sad Melinda and I were selling the home we’ve lived in for 20 years, the place where we raised our kids. On one hand, yes, it’s certainly emotional to be closing such an important chapter of our lives. But what I recognized is that while it is emotional, sad is not how I’m feeling. I’m actually excited to be starting this next phase of my life. The energy gained for what we’ve done these last 20 years is at its peak, meaning making this change now will propel us forward in the most positive way, generating more positive energy. To stay, due to nostalgia, laziness, or some other factor, would start taking from the energy.

Thinking this way reminded me of when I decided to sell my hockey card collection back in 1992. This collection was an incredibly important part of my childhood, with individual cards having individual stories. You could say they had built up a lot of positive energy for me. Because of this, Melinda and others were worried that I would regret selling the cards, that I would miss their presence in my life. Married and with a baby on the way, I realized back then that the cards had a new purpose. Although I didn’t have the words for it, the cards had an energy that could be renewed, transformed if you will, as the down payment on a house. As such, I have never regretted selling them, not even for a second.

Put simply, the energy of the hockey card collection, with all its history and meaning, renewed as our first house in 1993. And our first house, where Chloe and Ella each celebrated their first birthdays and is the place where PSCS got started, renewed as our current house in 1998. Now our current house, with all the positive energy generated by Melinda’s upgrades, is renewing and even guiding us into the next phase of our lives, that as older adults with grown children. Certainly, we’re lucky that this energy renewal benefits us financially, as can be seen in the listing.

It’s even energizing to imagine what’s coming next.