End·ing  ˈendiNG/ noun  plural noun: endings

1. an end or final part of something, especially a period of time

 

Synonyms:  end, finish, close, closing, conclusion, resolution, summing-up, windup, denouement, finale;

 

Why is it our natural reflex to blame ourselves or others when we are faced with endings? For one, we believe the myth that there is something wrong with endings—that they are unnatural. Perhaps what bothers us even more is that we are not in control of how and when those endings come. But how could we be? The only thing we are ever in control of is ourselves, not what whirls around us.

Benjamin Franklin once wrote that “in this world nothing is certain but death and taxes,” but there is one more thing we can be certain of: things change. All things change. Endings are not exceptions to the rule; they are the rule. Each day comes to an end and then gives way to a new dawn. Each season transitions into the next. The new moon soon becomes a full moon, and vice versa. Our lives and the events that weave themselves through it are governed by the same universal cycle—birth, growth, maturity, decline, rest, and renewal once again.

 

It is true that all endings are not always bad.  Some of you are graduating, some of you are moving up a year, and some of you will be leaving the Heights for other reasons.  Yes, there is sadness about leaving behind the life you lived here this year, and many of you believe that you will remain connected, but here’s the thing…it will never be in the same way as you experienced this year or during your four years at Le Moyne.  The connections may fall apart, or even get better!  However, you will not be able to live this life, in this way, again.  You will have memories and experiences that will have shaped who you are moving forward, that you will cherish, but you will never be able to relive in the same way you lived them.  I’m not writing his to make you sad or rub it in, but to help you see that it is important to recognize how important this idea of “honoring the endings” is for all of us, to observe how significant this time with these people in this place has been.  So as you move through your last days here on the Heights, whether just for now, for the semester, or for good, be intentional in recognizing the importance that something special has come to an end keeping in mind however, that if there were no endings, there wouldn’t be any beginnings.  We wish your well on the next part of your journey wherever that may take you.

 

“When an ending is in the wings—whether a relationship, a job, a way of life—let it go and let yourself fly”

–Patricia-Spadaro.