My Daily Calm - Endings

My Daily Calm, 10-minute meditation, for today was entitled Endings. The meditation focused on ending unhealthy relationships and on letting go of the concept that relationships have to last forever to have value or meaning. Honoring our instincts when we know it’s time to move on is an important element in ending relationships.

I stayed in my first marriage for nineteen years, despite the emotional toll it was taking, and stayed in jobs that exhausted me because I could hear my father’s voice, in my head, ask, “Do you want to be a quitter?”

The answer was always no. My father died in 1989, in 1993 I finally found the courage to file for a divorce and in 1994 I left a company I had worked at for 18 years. Making the decision to end those relationships made space for a healthier marriage (to Joe Coehlo) and different job opportunities that helped me grow as a person. In hindsight, I am convinced my father’s words were only meant for activities and opportunities, not bad relationships.

So, while my ‘endings’ have been a leap of faith they made space for better ‘beginnings.’

Today I am grateful for –

•          Friendships that have lasted.
•          Friendships that allow me to pick up where we left off after years of no contact.
•          Friendships that have ended because I, or they, recognized the toxicity of the relationship.