The Beauty of Endings

Things end. Weeks end. Years end. Relationships, friendships, vacations, chapters in our lives. Life itself. Sometimes these endings leave us full of regret. We wish we had accomplished this or that. A cleaner house, finished that novel, lost weight, written Christmas cards, seen that person one more time, painted that room. We waste so much time on regret and what ifs we often forget one simple thing. We can’t begin anew if we don’t close some chapters. Nature is a great teacher. Endings, with their dying away, nurture new growth.

My dear friend G is closing a big chapter of her life. I’m sure she has fear and anxiety about it. But she is, with great courage, beginning an exciting new life, and fulfilling a life-long dream. I envy her, I will miss her and I am thrilled for her all at once. I wish her wings.

So, I love fall and the browning of the leaves. I love that the winter trees bare themselves and shed their dress to stand stark, angular and strong against the sky. I then love the slight warming of air that signals the budding again. Ending, Beginning. Ending, Beginning. Ending, Beginning.

Happy New Year

Photograph by Gray Alexander