Should You Stay or Go

Endings are a natural part of living, but we don't treat them as such.

That doesn't mean they can't hurt. Some endings are expected and agreed upon (programmes, contracts), and even then they can be difficult if you were emotionally invested.

Others were never agreed upon; they were built on expectation, or no expectation at all, but still came to an end. Maybe we were ready. Maybe we weren't.

But if there's one thing I've learnt about endings, it's this: let them happen.

Let them happen... with grace.

I've had romantic relationships that I didn't want to let go of.

Or, situations where the other person couldn't let go.

What had been clean became messy.

I've had friendships that I was at peace with ending, yet the other person continued to join spaces I was established in.

I've been part of places and communities that I genuinely enjoyed and would never have chosen to leave, yet they concluded unexpectedly or prematurely.

There have been times when I've stepped away.

There have been times when I've fought and held on.

But both have led me to the same conclusion: it would have been easier have accepted the end.

Holding on, deciding to stay, or feeling that you have something to prove is a disservice to yourself.

Most of the time, when something has come to an end, you know it.

It's not an invitation to fight harder, stay longer, or endure more.

It's a clear message that it's time to leave, and that there's something else around the corner.