Honouring endings

"To go slowly is one of the great needs of life"

                                                        ** Sir Laurens van der Post **

Beginnings and endings always follow each other.  Just as day follows night.  But to get to new beginnings, we need to honour endings, and embrace closure before moving on.  In African culture, there is a huge celebration at the funeral of a loved one, a party which sometimes lasts for days. 

When there are significant changes unfolding in our lives, be it marriage, death, the gift of new birth, moving home, changing jobs, or the souring of a treasured relationship, a suffocating dam of emotions will hold us captive for a while.  Maybe a long while.  Go slowly in the moments of great change.

The act of honouring endings is a natural and necessary rhythm which allows us to reflect and celebrate whatever came before that moment, acknowleding the moment when things changed, and then look forward with anticipation, hope and joy into the future at the possibility of what could be.  We need to take time to let go, and only when the moment is right, step forward and move on.

                                               ** Taken from my (unpublished) book Whispered Comfort **