What’s Ending?

What’s Ending?

“What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.” 

T.S. Eliot “Little Gidding” from Four Quartets.

William Bridges describes endings as the first phase in change in his book Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes. 

Endings bring completions, closings, and deaths. They call us to reflect on outer and inner endings. Endings prepare the way for the new season, stage, or phase.

Endings bring awareness to:

• Loss and grief
• Letting go
• Unrealized dreams
• Outdated beliefs
• Impermanence
• A hint of something yet to come

Questions of the Month

What no longer fits this stage or season of life?

What have you outgrown?

What view of the world no longer makes sense?

What thoughts or actions no longer serve you and your community?

Practice of the Month

Self-Observation:  Letting Go

For one week, notice the endings in you and around you.

Are the endings gradual or abrupt?

Are they welcome or avoided?

How do you relate to endings?