Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Just a thought for the day

I haven't shared many quotes with you here at the Church of the Big Sky, but this one's really good. I saw it on a friend's Facebook page, and the message is pretty meaningful to me these days.

"There's a trick to the Graceful Exit. It begins with the vision to recognize when a job, a life stage, a relationship is over -- and to let go. It means leaving what's over without denying its validity or its past importance in our lives. It involves a sense of future, a belief that every exit line is an entry, that we are moving on rather than out." –Ellen Goodman

I've learned a lot about letting go in the past couple of years. Often, it's not an easy process, but I hope to eventually master the Graceful Exit. I think about this a lot and spend a little time each day reflecting on change. Where there is conflict and misunderstanding that I cannot resolve, I engage on a campaign of actively wishing people well and hoping for them to find a happy path. It doesn't always work, but I'm trying. I can only hope that people wish the same for me. I have no control over that though. I can only hope that others move on, too, and find wonderful ways to fill the potholes left behind on the path.

How do you achieve balance and handle difficult change and endings in your life? I'm genuinely curious about what works for you and gives you peace and closure.

2 comments:

Chuck said...

I think sometimes you can be too close to a situation to realize when a relationship or friendship is over. This happened to me once, when something I read in an advice column made me realize things had ended some time ago, and why was I still hanging on? Sometimes it's good to remember to step back and assess things objectively.

With my last job, though, things were easy. As soon as I found a new position, I was BOOM! Outta there.

Merujo said...

The whole "step back and assess" concept is a really good one.

Objectivity is hard for a lot of folks to achieve. :)