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Today's
Meditation:
One of the most important realizations of my life came
when it hit me that we tend to live our lives in
chapters-- for lack of a better word-- and that those
chapters must come to an end for other chapters to be able
to begin. We are living several chapters at a time
in different aspects of our lives, and each of those
chapters helps to contribute to our overall lives.
Right now, for example, I recognize chapters in my
professional life, in my friendships, in my relationships
with family members, in my exercising, in my writing, in
my reading-- in virtually everything I do.
When I see life in this way, it helps me to deal
gracefully with the changes that must happen in my
life. If I've grown to depend on a certain
friendship, I'm able to deal gracefully with its loss when
that friend moves away and we begin a new chapter, going
from being friends who see each other regularly to being
friends who correspond from a distance. It was very
helpful to me when I got laid off three years ago and I
was able to look at the situation as an ending that I
couldn't have avoided, but that opened up life for me to
be able to search out a new beginning.
Hold on, the world tells us. Hold on tight and don't
let go, otherwise you may lose what you love.
Sometimes, though, losing what we love is extremely
important to us, for it allows us to find something else
to love, something else to give our love to and from which
to receive love. Over and over again we hear of
people who lose "the love of their lives" only
to meet someone even more incredible once they accepted
the ending of the first relationship.
"Everything has a beginning and an
ending." Trying to deny this fact keeps us
frustrated and afraid. Accepting this fact and
living this truth can help us to face life with balance
and poise. While I don't necessarily like loss, I
find myself constantly looking around and wondering what
will end soon, not because I want things to end, but
because it's important to know where the opportunities for
growth will be, and that the end of some things give rise to
new chances in others.
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