Maddy Leigh

There’s something beautiful about an ending. The truth is, nothing is meant to last forever. That is not meant to make us sad or worrisome. Instead, it is intended to humble us and remind us that we have wonderful things in front of us right now. 

Something, good or bad, may have to end in order for something better to enter your life. We close chapters because we know better is out there for us. Sometimes, it is simply just time to move on, whether we are ready or not. A chapter-ending signifies change is ahead. Change can be scary… Yet, change can be exactly what we need at times. It doesn’t only have to be this monumental mark in life; those are just much easier to recognize. 

When closing a chapter, it’s as if we go through the Stages of Grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Getting caught up in the sorrow, the regrets, the mistakes, and missing the good things that ended: that’s easy. The hard part is moving forward, with the past not in your mind, but in your heart. The thing about our lives is that we truly do hold more power than we realize. You can choose whether to close the door and stay inside. Or, you can open the door, not yet walk through, and just take a peek around. Perhaps you want to walk back and forth through the door. Or maybe, you want to open that door and leap to the other side. The ending of all chapters will not be the same in your life, nor will the chapters be the same from person to person. Some chapters you might want to peacefully end with no regrets and no mess. Others, you never even knew there was a door, to begin with. Then, once you find it, it’s a sprint to the door. The point is, that you don’t necessarily need ‘closure’ to end a chapter. The closure is found within oneself. Only you will know when you are ready to go through that door. Every decision will change your life (no pressure). But it’s true. So, just know, if you never open or walk through that door, you will never experience the ‘you’ in that life. You learn from your experiences. If you don’t experience it, how will you learn?  

I truly believe that everything happens for a reason. The people who you come across in life, the people who leave imprints on your heart: they have helped you find your way and help you bring out the best and worst parts of yourself. The past builds you into who you are today, but it does not define you. This chapter that you are ending? It was good for you. Look at how wonderful you are doing right now. You are a beautiful person who is finding yourself in a scary world. You are exactly where you need to be. This chapter prepared you for that.  

Chapters in our life are like the sun; it must set. But tomorrow is a new day and it will rise again. Perhaps, it will be even more beautiful than it was ever before.

The end is never the end. It is always a new beginning. Let yourself see the new opportunities that life presents you. Let yourself see the blessings life has to offer. Let yourself grow, change, and live as you are intended to now, today, in this life.

The end is a gift, the beginning is reality.