Getting Ready For Your Next Great Adventure

Margaret worked for an investment company for over 25 years. Her company was bought by a larger corporation and through the re-structuring efforts that took place as a result of that, her division was phased out. All the people who worked for that part of the company, including Margaret, were laid off. Margaret was devastated. This has been her only job as an adult and she did not know what to do next. Because she had some money saved up, Margaret was able to take some time off before having to locate another job. In order to keep busy she did some volunteer work with a local non-profit organization that assisted women who had been victims of domestic abuse. Margaret found she loved working with this group and after three months of volunteering with them a job opportunity came up for which she applied. Margaret was hired and although the pay was substantially less than what she had been making at her corporate job, she found that she could still make ends meet and the work was so much more rewarding than what she had been doing. She realized that her life prior to this job had been pretty empty and while she had a comfortable lifestyle, it had not been very fulfilling. She realized that being laid off was the best thing that could have happened to her.

John was dating the woman of his dreams. Carrie was dynamic, exciting, and lots of fun. If she had any flaw in John's eyes, it was that she worked too much. Carrie was trying hard to climb the ladder in the company she worked for. She would work long hours, travel two to three weeks every month and attend any corporate event that would help her gain recognition and attention by the senior management. John wanted to ask her to marry him but before he did so he decided to broach the subject of children for he had grown up in a large family and had always wanted to have a large family of his own. To his dismay, he found that Carrie was not interested in having children at all. She felt that if she took time off from the job to have a child, it would have a negative effect on her chances for promotion. John spent much time trying to decide if his love for Carrie was strong enough to overcome his desire to have children. In the end he decided it was not and he broke off the relationship. The next several months were very hard for John. He missed Carrie and found dating and the singles scene very hard. To make matters worse his widowed mother fell and broke her leg. She would be requiring several months of physical therapy before she was back on her feet. John began attending her physical therapy sessions so he could assist in his mother's recovery. His mother's physical therapist was a young woman named Jackie who turned out to be an energetic and fun young woman who loved working with people. John found himself attracted to her instantly. They had much in common including the fact that both had come from large families. They began dating and six months later they were engaged. John realized that what he had thought he felt for Carrie was insignificant compared to his feelings for Jackie. Breaking up with Carrie was the best thing that could have happened to him.

Tom and Lisa were renting an apartment in the downtown district of their city. To their dismay, the landlord decided to sell the units as condos and although the current residents were allowed to make the first offers on their units, Tom and Lisa were not financially in a position to buy their unit at the price it was listed at. That meant looking for a new place to live fairly quickly. They were able to find a house to rent which was further away from the downtown area that they loved but in actuality was closer to where they both worked and the rent was cheaper. Tom and Lisa soon realized that they didn't miss the noise, the expense and the soaring crime rate in the big city. Their current neighborhood was quiet, friendly and felt like home. They found that by living closer to their work, each was able to ride a bicycle to work most days. With the money they saved from driving to work and the lower rental payment, they were soon in a position to buy the house they were living in. Being forced to move was the best thing that ever happened to them.

In each of these stories, someone experienced an ending. Most people would state that they don't like endings. That's because we often equate endings with sadness. Endings represent the closure of something in our lives and that often brings melancholy, regret and feelings of loss and grief. But the reality is that endings are a natural part of living. People, events, activities and many other things flow into and out of our lives all the time. In fact endings are necessary in order to make room for newer things to come to us.

We need to learn to embrace the endings as much as we look forward to the start of something new and exciting. In fact endings are great time to celebrate. It's completion. It's culmination. All endings represent the passing of what was to what is yet to come. Even though we may feel sadness, without endings, we could never have the promise of new beginnings. So go celebrate. Each ending makes room for the next great adventure of your life.