"THE TRANSITIONS" in THE REALITY SOAP: AFTER DAD'S FUNERAL

I asked this simple question during one of my past workshops / classes:

"Which is more difficult to take...the beginning or the ending?"

The answers, of course, vary. Some of them have answered that a new beginning is always the challenge - whether we are looking forward to it or not. Why? It is the comfort zone that we somehow find it hard to let go. It is the uncertainty of what lies ahead. It is our own doubts and fears. They are always there. We all have them, even the bravest ones, and that is just human.

Some others have answered that the ending is also the same, oftentimes even more difficult. It is not always about whether we like the things the way they are or not. It can be our impatience to get it over with, only because we just cannot stand the pain or the unfortunate situation we are in now. It is also our reluctance or lack of willingness to bid farewell to what or/and who we love the most. We have somehow grown accustomed to their existence in our lives that it is just hard to let go. Doing so only does nothing but break our hearts.

Which one is better, then? That depends. Either way, we cannot live with just one without the other.

We all go through transitions in our lives. They come in varieties. Some are good, some bad. Oftentimes, they come unexpectedly. It does not matter how we really feel; we just have to deal with them anyway.

We can only do that the best way we know how. We can start by accepting the fact that nothing lasts forever. No one is immortal. A comfort zone is a temporary illusion. In the end, it is always a matter of 'when' before another change occurs.

That is when we need to face a period of adjustment. Saying goodbye is never easy when it comes to love, but we have no choice except moving forward. What if that person in our lives no longer gets an 'extension' on their 'life-contracts'? What if your feelings are forbidden, that you are not supposed to have them in the first place? What for, if they will only hurt you in the end? What for?

Moving forward feels much lighter when you believe in something better that waits for you there. It is not always happiness or certainty. Oftentimes, it is your own personal faith that you can face whatever it is in the future.

Moving forward also means leaving some things behind. It does not mean running away from everything and just starting over. Some people call that 'letting go' or 'accepting the fact that not all things in life just go our way'. After all, life is not always about you. It is about everyone and everything else too.

May our life transitions lead us to something more beautiful than before.

R.