Life is a cycle of recurring events. Everything repeats its self; whether to us again, or to the people around us. You would agree with me that the most painful thing often recurring is saying goodbye.
When we leave a job, relocate to another town, graduate from high school or college, etc, we are forced to split with the people we've come to love all these years - with people we are used to. But sooner or later, that emptiness, that void, gets replaced by new people in exactly the same setting we met the first ones. This just shows that we're stuck in some kind of infinite loop in life.
However, despite that we are quick to move on in these scenario, we find it difficult to accept change or move on when it's a relationship we just left.
Surprisingly.
Goodbyes will sting for a while, and that’s a truth we simply cannot avoid. But when we realize that we can keep the meaningful parts of every story with us, I think goodbyes become a little more bearable. I don’t know if I’m ever going to lose my fear of endings, but I do know now that it’s okay to let go.
It’s okay to not hold on until my hands are physically hurting. It’s okay to let go even when a story seems like it is ending too soon. It’s okay to cry over and to mourn each ending, but it’s also okay to allow the ending to happen anyway.
And when we do let go, we are left with a wide open space in our heart, a space that used to be filled by someone or something we cherished and loved. A space that once held something “good” has been replaced by a space that feels empty and lonely. And the scary part is, we don’t know what will fill this space next. We don’t know how long it will be vacant. We don’t know if the next person or the next story will be as beautiful as the previous one. We don’t know if we’ll ever feel the exact same way again.
And while this is daunting, I guess I’m realizing that maybe it can also be kind of magical. Because even though we might not experience the very same feeling again, there’s a chance that we might be able to experience something that is just as precious, in a different way.
I do not think that endings ever become any easier. But maybe we can feel a little more content when we realize that each ending, without fail, is accompanied by a brand new beginning.
And maybe, just maybe, this new beginning will be a different type of miracle.
