12/30/2007: "The End"

To every beginning there is an end, and to every end there once was a beginning. We know this from simple science and the fact that it seems everything in the natural world has a time line of existence. This holds true for things that don't exactly come with an expiration date such as relationships, friendships, marriages, careers, etc. The end of things without a scientific or pre-calculated time frame are the hardest things to lose.

Losing a loved one, whether through death or a dissolution of what once was a friendship is very hard, it usually comes suddenly and there is often nothing that can be done to repair the damage. It's often the fact that we don't know that an end to something is coming that it hurts us even more because it more often than not shows us our complete lack of control over the world we live in. We can't control people, lives, environment, or even the economies we live in. In fact we live, prosper, falter, and die within the whim of what each of us do to one another. If people boycott a manufacturer of a certain product, sales drop, and many people will lose jobs without even themselves doing anything wrong.

The concept of the end of things owes nothing to anyone. A person could go through a lifetime of losing job after job or marriage after marriage and it's pure randomness as to why it occurs it seems. Everything can be perfect and suddenly this illusory fissure opens up beneath you and your life is gone or completely drained from what it once was. At the same time nothing says that things cannot be reattained, sometimes relationships are healed, sometimes people get there careers back, and some often times even remarry.

The End cannot be confused with a lack of hope, because that is never the case. Many times things end up being discarded and pushed away but that does not mean they stay apart forever. Whether it's God, life, circumstance, or whatever you attribute it to, I think the world and our Heavenly Father wants us in certain places in our lives. I can't say for sure of course but I feel He chooses the big paths in our lives and we choose the small one's along the way.

During your journey you are going to lose. Of course I'm not talking about a game with a win or loss record, I'm talking there are things you are going to lose along the way, but before you give up all hope that life is nothing but pain and loss, realize that you will also find a lot of things along the way as well.

The End will come for me as it will for you, it will come for many we care about along this journey, but I stress to you to treasure this journey fore you will only take it once.