New Beginnings: Embracing Change

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Hey loves, welcome back to The Music of Life! This week’s episode is a heart-to-heart from a whole new place—literally. I’m recording from my brand new space, and let me tell you, it already feels like home. After months of praying, manifesting, and prepping for change, I’ve landed exactly where I need to be. In this episode, I’m sharing the magic of fresh starts, the emotional rollercoaster of moving, and the beauty that comes with releasing the old and embracing the unknown.

I talk about the personal transformations I’ve experienced—internally and externally—from my wardrobe to my mindset. This isn’t just about a change in zip code, it’s about stepping fully into the next chapter of life with an open heart and wide-open arms. If you’re navigating your own season of change or searching for the courage to start fresh, this episode is for you.

 

Episode Highlights:

[0:02] - Settling into my new space and recording from the closet—finally peaceful and cozy!
[1:24] - Gratitude for my best friend and the vibe we share while unpacking and moving in.
[3:10] - First night alone, future plans, and embracing a new chapter with excitement.
[5:15] - Opportunities beginning to open up professionally—why I believe it's all divine timing.
[6:41] - Reflecting on identity through clothing and preparing for a personal style evolution.
[8:18] - Thoughts on wearing makeup again and how our outward look mirrors inner growth.
[9:45] - Letting go of emotional attachments to material things and keeping only what matters.
[11:40] - Creating space, simplifying life, and the joy of repurposing and rearranging.
[13:05] - A final reflection on feeling at peace, being in flow, and embracing the season of expansion.

 

Links & Resources:

Be sure to follow, share, and leave a comment if this show resonates with you! Send me a message at podpage.com/themusicoflife to share your experiences, or to leave a comment. I'd love to feature it in a future episode.

Episode Transcript

Caryn Portnoy (00:02):
Hi everyone, and welcome to the music of Life.
I'm your host. Karen Portnoy,before I get into this episode,
please comment, ask questions,share some of your experiences,
and don't forget to subscribe.
YouKaren. Hi everyone. It's Karen

(00:22):
again, and I'm coming to youlive from my brand new master
bedroom closet, where recordingin here is going to be so much
more comfortable than where Iwas before, but I'm so excited
as my last week's message to youabout my move. I was so
exhausted last week. It wasreally crazy, but I'm so much

(00:46):
more calm, more excited, morehappy, more peaceful. I'm just
thrilled to be in my new placeand in a much better environment
for me, tons of dogs where I am,tons of people where I am,
people I've met so far have beenso nice and kind and friendly
and helpful, and it I'm just inthe best place I can possibly be

(01:11):
right now, and I'm just thrilledabout it. So I'm still getting
settled and situated, and I havea few more things left to
unpack, but I'm pretty much allunpacked and everything where I
want it to be. My best friend of46 years came up from Florida to
help me move, and I could neverhave done this without his help.

(01:34):
So I'm eternally grateful tohim, and I'm just thrilled that
we're so in sync. We're so, youknow, I don't know where to put
something, he knows exactlywhere to put it, or he doesn't
know, and I know, and we're justalways, always have been so
vibey with each other. So it's,it's just been great. And now
that he has moved to anotherlocation for the time being, I'm

(01:59):
on my own for the first day, andI'm just, I'm taking it all in.
I'm just hanging with my dog inmy new place. Have plans with a
friend later on to go see somelive music. And you know, just
my new life has officially begunas of today, and I really just

(02:20):
don't know what else to sayabout it, other than I'm exactly
where I need to be. Things arefalling into place for me, and
there is no doubt in my mindthat this has been 1,000%
orchestrated by God. This hasbeen a long time coming, and I
think that all of my prayer, allof my manifestations, all of my

(02:44):
positivity and dedication, andall the things that I'm doing to
help propel myself forward inthe best possible way, with the
purest of intentions, the purestof heart and connection and
love, and I'm just, I reallydon't know how else to explain

(03:06):
that.
Anyway, it's it's a beautifulday today in New York, and I'm
going to get outside, and, likeI said, we're going to see live

(03:26):
music tonight, so it'll beoutdoors, and I'll take my dog
and like, what's better, youknow, what's better than that?
And also, already, I'm noticingthat doors are starting to open
a little for me, as far as mybusiness and career, and you
know what I'm trying to buildfor myself, doors are starting

(03:48):
to open, and I knew it would. Ididn't know that it would. It
would take so little time once Ichanged environments that you
know, I would start to seeopportunities come my way. And I
think that this is just thebeginning. I have some other
things lined up in the nextcouple of months that I'm super

(04:10):
excited about, and I trulybelieve that by the end of this
year, I might not recognizemyself. So, you know, very
excited about that. And youknow, as much as I would love to
talk about it right now, I'm notgoing to, because I don't want
to jinx myself, first of all,and second of all, I've, I've
sort of been guided to not sayanything just yet. I just would,

(04:35):
would rather the success that Ihave and the results that I get,
I would rather that speak foritself. So whatever is coming in
the next few months, I'll letyou know more about it when it's
time to talk about it. But fornow, I'm just gonna keep it
under wraps and put my nose tothe grind to make sure that

(04:57):
everything that I want to happenis. Is going to happen and and
I'm happy to talk about it at alater date, and I promise I
will.
You know, it's funny when, whenyou know that you're changing

(05:20):
locations and environments, andyou're ready to take the next
step to a new chapter of yourlife. And you know, I thought
about this so much as I waspacking and as I'm sitting in my
closet right now looking aroundat all of my things. You know, I
have a ton of space that I can'teven imagine ever filling up,
but at the same time, you know,I look at my clothing and my

(05:44):
shoes and my bags and everythingthat I I took and, you know,
it's all my old life. And I, youknow, I look at some things and
I'm like, I don't know that Iwant to wear this in in the new
chapter. So I sort of imaginethat I will change over my
entire wardrobe in in time. Acouple of things are new, and a

(06:07):
couple of things I've I'veenjoyed wearing, but, you know,
it's like I couldn't just throwout or give away my entire
wardrobe. So little by little,I'll start to replace things,
and, you know, maybe change mystyle somewhat and see what I
like, and I'm looking forward tothat. I get a lot of flack for
the fact that I wear a lot ofblack clothing. I feel like much

(06:32):
of my marriage and much of mylife in my divorce and beyond,
there's a lot of black in mywardrobe. Yes, it's a New York
thing. I'm, I'm very well awareof that, but it's, it's also a
Karen thing, and I'm trying tochange that, because I like
colors, and I like colors on mein certain colors more than

(06:53):
others. So you know, as my moodand my attitude and my mindset
changes, I want my clothing toreflect that as well, and it's
interesting to see thatevolution.

(07:15):
My friend who was helping memove, you know, we were going
through some of my makeup, andhe was like, Are you wearing any
of this? And I was like, youknow, I really don't wear a lot
of makeup, and I haven't in along time. So he's like, Well,
maybe you should start again,and maybe I will. I just, I'm
not feeling it right thissecond, but as more

(07:37):
opportunities open and there's aneed for me to be more made up
or more put together than Ialready am. I, you know, I'm
curious to see how that evolvesalso, but I'm, I would say, in
the last five years or so, Ireally don't wear a lot, so I'm

(07:57):
curious to see how that changes,and if I do wear more makeup in
the future, it's just reallyinteresting. The whole concept
of transformation and growth andevolution and moving ahead and
moving on, just the whole ideaof it is just, I don't know. I

(08:17):
think a lot of us get verycomplacent in our lives in terms
of the clothes we wear, theshoes we wear, the makeup we
wear, or don't wear, orwhatever. I think it's it's like
we kind of just get used to acertain way of being and
presenting ourselves and andthen it's like, when do we

(08:38):
actually shed a certain skin andevolve as someone new and and I
think this whole process of mydivorce has really shown me how
much I've transformed and howmuch I've grown and how much
I've evolved. It's it's a veryexciting I mean, it's very

(08:58):
painful in the moment, but it'svery exciting when you come out
on the other side of it and andyou're very open to change and
open to new adventures and andexcitement and and just to see,
I'm very much open right now.
I'm curious and interested, andI'm just, you know, I'm just in
my flow at this very moment,very much in in the flow of,

(09:21):
okay, what's coming next, andthat's where I'm going to be.
I'm not saying no to things. I'mI'm wide open. So I love that
definitely in my era still ofnot saying no to things, I mean,
I, you know, carefully notsaying, No, I'm not just going
to be reckless and carelessabout things, but as things

(09:43):
approach me, and opportunitiesor whatever, I just feel very
much, you know, I'm not lookingto play it safe right now. I'm
still looking to play it smart,just I'm open to new
opportunities. I. It'salso very interesting to me that

(10:08):
you know this change, this move,this new part of my life is
happening at the beginning ofthe summer. It's a time to be
outside, to be active, to beadventurous, and and all of
those things. And, you know, hadit been the winter time, first
of all, my move would have beenso much harder. But, you know,

(10:29):
winter is the time to kind ofhibernate and just kind of hang
inside and, you know, kind of beby yourself. Sometimes I think
I'm sort of done with mysolitude era. I think it's been
like a solid 13 months of justprioritizing solitude and rest

(10:51):
and recovery and doing so muchhealing work and all of that and
and I definitely feel like I'mcoming out of that like
immediately. So I'm happy thatthis is all happening in the
summertime, and we'll see how itall unfolds. I'm excited for it,

(11:11):
whatever it is, and I'm notgoing too much into the future.
I really just want to thinkabout today and tomorrow and
make whatever appointments Ineed to make, and do whatever I
need to do and take care ofmyself, but at the same time,
I'm very much in my flow in themoment. So it's funny last

(11:31):
night, my friend was kind ofdumping things out on my bed for
me to go through and figure outwhat I wanted to keep and what I
wanted to toss, and it was justsuch a barrage of memories that
were just strewn out all over mybed. And, you know, it gets
overwhelming sometimes, becauseyou're just like, do I want

(11:54):
this? Do I need it? What purposedoes it serve for me now? What
memories Am I trying to hold onto? And he's like, you know, you
don't need to keep the thing,take a picture of it, you have
the memory, and then toss it.
And he's so good at doing that,because he's not emotionally
attached to anything, and that'swhat I rely on him for, because

(12:17):
I am emotionally attached to alot of things from my past, and
you know, they hold a lot ofmeaning for me. But he's right.
You know, the material item ofwhatever it is like, doesn't
mean anything. So keep thememory, take the picture. I
could always look back at it andrecall the memory and just get
rid of it and simplify my life.
So there's been a lot of thatover these last couple of days,

(12:41):
and it's been very liberatingand freeing to be able to let go
of some of the things that, youknow, I I've held on to. So I'm
enjoying that process alsobecause, you know, can't take
everything with you, right? It'sbeen great buying new things.
You know, as I let go of oldthings, buying new things and

(13:04):
having them and, you know, I'mjust really enjoying this whole
process right now and justgetting situated and figuring
out, you know, how to repurposeold things into new things and
just rearranging things andregrouping things. It's just,
you know, I really love my spacenow, and I feel really good and

(13:27):
happy and peaceful, and this isa great new time for me, and
I'm, I'm thrilled to share itwith you guys and and I'll keep
you posted on this journeybecause it's it's very it's
awesome. I'm very, very happy.
So stay tuned. I will catch youin the next episode. Have a

(13:50):
great week. See you. Then pleasejoin me every Thursday for a new
episode. You can reach [e-mail] slash the
music of life. Feel free toleave your email address. You
can also leave a voicemail andshare any kinds of stories or

(14:10):
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alone, and I would love to sharethat with other people who are
also going through similarthings. Thanks again for
listening. I'll see you in thenext episode. You.