Every beginning is a consequence. Every beginning ends something. – Valéry
I gave this quote to a friend today. It was her boss’s last day at their work and she was sad and also a little apprehensive about the work she was going to be taking on as a result of the change, since the company had decided not to immediately replace her boss. We were talking about how things change, and this quote came to mind – it flips the idea of beginnings and endings on its head and allows us to explore these things from a fresh place.
Perhaps you are wondering, well, why would I bother? Why does it matter? It matters because we are prejudiced when it comes to these things. We think endings are bad and beginnings are good. But the reality is neither is good or bad, and both are necessary.
When we think about beginnings, we think about the newness and the excitement of something we don’t know the end to yet. But what if the ending was just as exciting – what if the ending what was we anticipated because that was going to give way to something bright and beautiful?
That is my challenge to you. What is the ending in front of you? Can you see it as a beginning? Can you see your beginning for what it has ended? And maybe in so doing, you can consider that neither of them need be feared.