As one thing ends another begins

As the year draws to a close many often look back on it and reminisce on everything that’s happened. The good, the bad, the in between. Mood, personality, life style, these all affect how you view the year and how things have happened. Many look back and focus on the good. The joy, the happiness, the times they enjoyed. On the flip side many only pull in what went wrong, the dark side of the year, the things that made them sad. No matter how you look at it, one thing is true. Everything runs its course and comes to an end. What you do with that knowledge really depends on how you want to move forward.

If you purely focus on just the fact that something is ending you often miss the meaning of it. Yes it is the end of something, whether it be the year, a chapter in your life, a relationship, etc., but by simply losing yourself in the fact that it is over you don’t see the big picture. Why is it over, what are the reasons it’s ending. What have you learned from the experience, what impact have you had on the lives of others involved in it? Many also forget to realize that just because something ends doesn’t mean that things are over. It’s simply the opportunity for a new beginning.

Opening your eyes and seeing past the obvious right in front of you, taking a step back and getting a Bird's Eye view of you will, you can get a much better understanding of many of the reasons things come to and end. A big one is the constant march of time. Thing can last for ever and with time will come to and end. But is that so bad? For example, in an old growth forest, a tree that has been there for hundreds of years finally had grown too old to thrive. It loses its leaves, it slowly dries out and becomes a shell of what it once was. Sounds sad right? Well the tree has lived its life providing for the forest around it, but just because its life comes to an end doesn’t mean it’s just gone. It still is able to provide a home for many animals that are able to live inside it. Its nutrients slowly reabsorbed into the soil around it as it feeds back the new life that comes in, and if one day it does fall, it still is able to provide shelter and food for everything around it. So yes its life has come to an end but it keeps on giving if you just look. The same concept is true for many things in life.

Looking at things not as if they have ended and are over but looking at the picture as a whole will surprise you at how many learning opportunities were placed before you, how many opportunities to grow, change, impact those around you. Every ending carries more than just an end, it brings about life and new beginnings that when properly utilized and learned from, can help you move into a better, more healed and understanding version of yourself. So as this year comes to an end, don’t look at it as just an ending, look at it as another classroom session in life has concluded and it’s up to you to take what you have learned and use it as the new year begins to keep moving forward on your path of life.