Life is comprised of beginnings and endings. We take our first breath and eventually, our last. The space between birth and death fills with myriad experiences of “hello” and “goodbye”.
Beginnings and endings shape our lives in ordinary and sometimes, extraordinary ways. Some are welcomed, others are not. Some lead to greater security, love, and joy. Others lead to fear, loss or despair.
Unexpected or painful endings can turn our lives upside down. The loss of a job, the death of a loved one, a scary diagnosis, can send us into emotional turmoil. To endure those difficult periods in our lives, we must learn to let go. We must release what was or could have been.
Before my marriage ended, I had to let go of the belief that I could make it work, if only I tried harder, or failing that, if only I could mold him into the person I needed him to be. I had to be willing to move through the fear and toward an uncertain future. I had to be willing to let go of what was, for what could be.
Hanging on to anything that isn’t working, only brings more suffering. It takes courage to let go. It takes wisdom to see that endings are sometimes for the best, even if they feel awful in the moment. Letting go also requires faith, knowing that every ending yields a new beginning.
Over the course of our lives, endings dissolve into new beginnings ripe with unlimited potential. With each new beginning, we get to decide how we want show up and what we want to create going forward.
It isn’t always easy managing through change, especially the unexpected or painful kind. Yet, we have a choice. We can either choose to be reduced by our circumstances or we can use the experience to expand beyond what we thought possible.
Choose to expand. Choose to feel your way through the pain until you get to the other side. There is always another side and you can find your way to it. Trust. Know that you are greater than your troubles, greater than the most difficult ending. You can rise up and begin anew.
Dear reader, tell me…What endings have you endured and what new beginnings are unfolding before you?