The Art of Ending Things and The Lost Art of Closing Rituals

Endings are always hard. Trust me, I’ve had to end many things internally and externally in 2022. I found this fantastic article The Art of Ending: 3 Steps for Pruning Your Life and I’ve read it dozens of times. Below is an excerpt from this article which I personally read over and over.

“Our lives are very similar to this rose bush. They are often filled with so many good things; so many opportunities, commitments, endeavors, and relationships that we are overwhelmed. Our resources are stretched, and nothing, or no one,  is getting our full attention. In most areas, we are surviving, not thriving. What would happen if we were to prune back some of the good for sake of the best?

“So, too, does this happen in our lives. We limp along with broken relationships, hang onto toxic habits, and linger in commitments that deplete us physically or emotionally. It feels as though all of our energy is being diverted to sustain parts of our life that are not meeting our hopes and expectations. Essentially, the season of possibility for these buds has passed. What would happen if we were to get out our shears, and extract the parts of our life that are no longer giving us the results they once did, or are never going to amount to anything no matter how much we try?

As in our lives, we are often burdened with situations that have run their course and no longer contribute to our success. Finding and removing what chokes our life can help us to breathe deeper, spread wider, and grow higher than we ever thought possible. What would happen if we removed all the things and relationships in our lives that could never be revived?“

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You can also read these two articles:

• The Lost Art of Closing Rituals
• The Art of Ending Things

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