We generally welcome new beginnings, looking forward to the
possibilities inherent in a fresh start or in novel experiences that we feel
will be good for us. Endings, on
the other hand, often aren’t perceived as positive. When something important in our lives ends there can be
feelings of failure or regret, even if we are relieved about being finished.
In order to create in this life we must also be able to
destroy, and therein lies the grace in endings. When we hold on to something that no longer serves us, the
message that we give to this infinitely-creative universe is that we intend to
stay right where we are. If we
instead choose to end what it is that no longer serves us, even if the ending
is painful, it makes room for what we are meant to grow into.
Endings can be a vast gift to the spirit. Although we may not see them this way
in the moment, endings allow us to collect our energy from the past and bring
ourselves squarely into the present, which is important because creation always
occurs in the Now.
I’ve noticed for myself that I’d really rather avoid
endings. I hold on, at least on an
energetic level, to the person or situation whose time in my life has
past. Endings can feel like a
death, and in a very real way they are.
Truly letting go of something means the death of the person we used to
be, whose roles, priorities and perspectives defined us in a certain way. Letting go forces us to evolve, and can
be scary because it requires moving into as-yet-unknown parts of ourselves.
I’m learning that I need to fully experience the meaning and
emotion surrounding the endings in my life, rather than try to bury my feelings
and quickly move on. Whether the
ending was full of conflict or felt appropriate and supported, we need to take
the time to process the life experience we’ve just been through so that we can
own the gifts it has provided.
Endings can bring us more awareness of our capacity for love
or understanding or of our own power, make clear our need to set firm
boundaries, help find our areas of resistance to what is, or countless other
steps in our continuing evolution.
We can sit in meditation or prayer and allow our
understanding to come to us. We
can spend quiet, undistracted time just feeling our emotions and letting ourselves
acknowledge them. We can process
our experience through journaling or writing poetry. In whatever way we choose to connect with the infinite
wisdom that lives within us, it’s important to take the time to find and
assimilate the lessons and the growth so that we can carry them into our
future.
May you take time to gather the gifts that come when
something ends, and may this tool be a blessing.
