Life exists in cycles. For every beginning there is an ending. For every up there is a down. For every rise there is a fall. The pendulum of the world will swing in one direction and eventually fall back down and swing the other way. Despite many people’s best efforts to get around this fact of life, there is no avoiding it.
We see it in our daily lives in small ways that we often pay no mind, like the laundry bin filling up and washing them. It’s the larger things in life that stand out to us though. We notice the change in each season, when the school year starts and ends, or when the busier times at work begin and end. But we fixate on things such as death, the ending of a relationship, or the closing down of a business. It’s the major “cataclysmic” things that always stand out to us the most.
We often view the endings of these cycles in a negative light. This because of the meanings and expectations we had attached to those people/events and the outcomes. It’s natural to feel sad when these things end.
In longer cycles, such as the lifespan of a long standing business, there are ups and downs. The pendulum swings from one side to the other. What we need to learn is to ride the pendulum itself so we’re least affected by it. When things are going great and it’s smooth sailing, appreciate those good times. Enjoy them, but be prepared for when the tide shifts. When things are rough, you look forward to the good times to, but you take the lessons available so you know how to better prevent or ease the next downward swing of the pendulum. Once things are going well again you can be better prepared and be grateful for the lessons you learned in the previous cycle.
Things have to end, but endings aren't really the end. They are a transition. A transition from one cycle into a new one. As we step into this new beginning we bring with us the lessons we learned from the previous cycle, or face the lesson again.
This is why it sometimes feels like we’re going in circles in life. But we often fail to realize, or we sometimes forget, that life is a spiral, like a staircase. As we grow and repeat these cycles, if we apply the lessons we learned the last time this kind of cycle was about, the situation is easier to maneuver and we continue moving up the spiral.
Many times we become so focused on the ending of a cycle that we neglect to look at the possibilities available to us in the beginning of the new cycle. With endings come new beginnings and new opportunities for us. We only have to reach out and grab them. Getting fired from or quitting your job is a new opportunity to start a new career or start working at someplace where you can feel fulfilled in the workplace. Ending a relationship can be the start of your journey of self love. With all endings come new beginnings.
As I stated above, the pain from these endings come from the meanings we place on situations and the expectations we had for them. We have to learn to let go and release these things if we want to fully accept the truth and be able to move forward into the new beginnings that are available to us.The resistance is often due to unhealed trauma that we need to sit with and integrate back into us. Not doing this keeps us locked in the past, and there’s nothing we can do to change the past.
I hope this post helps some of you or at least provides another view point to endings and cycles. Thank you for reading and have an enlightening day.
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