Rhythm and Release

Sometimes, it takes a major shift to realize that you’ve been holding onto things too long and it’s time to “shift your rhythm.”

For example, we had no plans of selling our house that we’ve lived in for the past 20 years. However, a young friend mentioned that he was looking to purchase a home and, sure enough, he offered to buy ours. Before we knew it, we signed a contract and then it hit us: We remembered the ton of boxes in our unfinished bonus room that we meant to go through – but never did.

Phase 1

Looking at a sea of boxes (There must have been 30-40 of them!) can overwhelm most people, especially those who are slightly ADD.

Many of the boxes weren’t even our stuff. Some belonged to our kids or my husband’s parents. So, ask yourself: Are you taking on other people’s “stuff”? Maybe it’s time to let that go.

And that’s what we did. We put everything into three categories: 1) Shred,  2) Donate, and 3) Keep. We brought down 2-3 boxes a day and went through them. In about 2 ½ weeks, the bonus room was empty.

Phase 2

Now, it was time for us to embrace what could be and what we wanted to bring into our new season. Imagine my surprise when we wound up not with a new house but a new apartment!

Apartment living was something I told my husband I’d never do. You can’t drum in an apartment. However, leaving a home that was in need of serious updating in favor of something brand new with loads of amenities was very appealing.

So, we purged more stuff, including some of our decor. Out with the old and in with the new. This included, believe it or not, a good portion of my drums.

I asked the Holy Spirit who would I be without my drums? To which He replied: “You’d still be Dori.” And this is true. Your identity isn’t in your business, your title, your career, your talent, or your stuff.

Letting go

At our New Year’s service at my church, we sang some tunes with lyrics that, for some reason, reminded me of disappointments with my business, Next Stage Drumming, and of all the friends who passed away in 2025. I felt the frustration welling up and I felt like I wanted to scream!

Fortunately, I didn’t. I realized that I never allowed myself to grieve. I needed to grieve those whom I lost and also my expectations for my business. I needed to surrender it all to God.

At that moment, I felt complete peace. We went outside to the parking lot and lit paper lanterns. We said a silent prayer of what we wanted to release from 2025 – and let go. It was amazing to see so many beautiful lanterns floating up into the night sky!

Moving onto the Next Stage

That night, I had a dream. I was covered with what looked like clay tiles. Little by little, the tiles broke off. Out stepped what looked like a younger version of me. She smiled and flicked her fingers towards the pile of tiles, as if to say “We don’t need you anymore.”

I’ve helped so many others rock the Next Stage of their lives. I guess it’s my turn. I can’t wait to see what my next season brings! Happy New Year!

Dori Staehle lives in the Raleigh, NC area and is an empowerment coach, speaker, author, certified drum therapist, and owner of Next Stage Drumming, LLC.  Dori helps people find their “rhythm”, so they can rise up and rock the Next Stage of their lives, including Christian creatives and those who are neurodivergent!