Beginnings & Endings
Listen: 5-min read
Summary: Rather than being overly focused on one over the other, explore what it would be like to embrace the beginnings and endings in life without preference.
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Beginnings and endings can bring up a plethora of different feelings and emotions.
We can be relieved to end one job and anxious or excited about starting the next. We dread the end of a relationship to realize that life is more enjoyable once we take the step to end it. But, of course, the end of a relationship and life after can also be challenging. And while everyone experiences endings and beginnings differently, we have something in common - they are part and parcel of life.
Being born into the adventure called life, the most extraordinary beginning imaginable, is the first of many more before death. I believe in reincarnation; therefore, I don't consider death as the end of my existence but rather the end of a creative learning cycle.
Nature is full of beginnings and endings, day and night, winter moves into spring, spring into summer, and while the endings and beginnings aren't defined except in the calendar, they are noticeable. For example, in Germany, we celebrate carnival at the end of February. In the olden days, it signified the end of winter and the coming of spring. However, in Bavaria, which is closer to the Alps, temperatures are rather frosty until April. Yet, the hope for spring starts blossoming with the carnival.
Seneca, a Roman Stoic philosopher, once said:" Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings' end."
Endings can be forced upon us or chosen with intention; we may call them letting go, completion, termination, cancellation, and so on. And too often, we rush through an ending to start a new beginning without taking the time to truly integrate the ending. Reflecting on what we may have learned from that period in life before it ended, what we were graced with, and what we created, even if it ended up a failure. By rushing into the next beginning, we might overlook consciously acknowledging the ending and preparing for the new. Trees shed their leaves in autumn, preparing for winter, gathering the strength for growth in spring. And so, when we lack integration and closure, it might be the reason that the start into the next new may be more draining and less inspiring.
Likewise, when we focus too much on the endings, we may overlook that there is always an opportunity to start afresh, create something new, and write a new chapter in our book of life.
And so, rather than being overly focused on one over the other, explore what it would be like to embrace the beginnings and endings in life without preference—considering them as a reminder of the impermanence of things and an invitation to be more present to the ebb and flow of life.
I want to finish by bringing your attention to another aspect where we can apply the concept of beginning and endings: Our emotions and feelings. They are impermanent too. Of course, we want to feel happy and content all the time; we dislike the idea of having to face unpleasant feelings. I wonder if it would be easier to stay with an unpleasant feeling when we remember that it too shall pass. We may be less concerned about how long it will last and when it will pass. Perhaps this would give us the courage to sit with the emotion, keep it company, and invite it in, as Rumi suggests in his poem The Guesthouse. Suppressing and ignoring your emotions can lead to a decline in mental, emotional, and physical health. Emotions and feelings are a great guide to highlight our met and unmet needs. Naming, acknowledging, and being with your emotions in an accepting way, knowing that they, too, come and go, help navigate your inner landscape with more ease, bringing peace and acceptance to what is present right now.
Thank you for listening. If you want to learn more about how to befriend your emotions, contact me - I am happy to share some tools.
I'll be here again next Thursday with some new musings.
Until then, take good care.