When the Ending Won't Let You Imagine a New Beginning
I don’t understand how that could have happened. I can’t believe that I left that place. How can it be over if it gave me life? These could be some of your thoughts right now. The ending won’t let you imagine a new beginning.
If ideas like these are running through your head, it’s precisely because you’re still living in the past and you can’t get over it. The story has ended, but it remains unfinished for you. The city has run out of experiences, but you can’t accept it.
However, endings are just the last tangible proof of an experience that will always stay with a part of you. They mean you have to say goodbye, it’s true, but they also show that you’ve experienced something that nobody can ever take away from you, because they belong to you.
An ending can also be a new beginning
Right now you’re living in an agitated state of confusion, in a contradiction between the reality that haunts you and what you wish it was. It’s completely natural and there’s no reason to be ashamed. We’ve all felt like something we wanted has slipped right through our hands at some point.
“It might seem strange to start a story with an ending. But all endings are also beginnings. We just don’t know it at the time.”
-Mitch Albom-
However, when the ending knocks on your door and you’ve gone through a period of absolute confusion, it’s time to give yourself a push. This will help you put your feet on the ground, heal what has broken, and start again.
If you’re faced with an ending, why not start something else from there? It’s all about scraping together whatever positive aspects you’ve received from something that can’t continue anymore. It’s not a question of starting your life from zero, but a story of maturity acquired through previous experiences.
A capital letter after a period
Ellipses that cover up full stops are not healthy for anyone, no exceptions. If there’s something that can’t be anymore, or if the time has come to pack your suitcase and leave, it’s not beneficial to deny it and cause yourself more harm.
There are new stories to imagine that are out there waiting for you. These stories should start with a capital letter. There, you’ll see yourself reflected in a mirror that reminds you that after having lost yourself, you can find yourself again.
Julio Cortázar said that nothing is lost if you have the courage to declare that everything is lost. So giving up can’t be an option when you’re at the point of taking the most difficult step and closing the door on a home where you can no longer stay.
“Don’t just see the end of old streets
the beginnings tend to be where you leave them”
-Maldita Nerea-
Starting to understand
It will be hard, it will be strange, and it will take guts, but you can do it. In the instant you start to become aware and feel strange, new opportunities will open up in front of you.
Little by little, you’ll begin to understand, and only when you’ve completely understood what happened will you find peace. Finding closure, accepting what happened, and healing your wounds will make you feel better, and at the same time, improve your relationships with others.
“Being at peace with yourself is the surest way
to start to be at peace with others.”
-Luís de León-
With all this in mind, is it okay to remember the ending? Yes, of course, but you can’t continue living in it. It doesn’t exist anymore, it’s a memory, and memories are filtered and stored. Imagine new beginnings, find a way to live in the present, and take full advantage of what today has to offer.
