Beginning and Ending

The middle is important, but without a starting point we’d never make it anywhere – even if at the end we look back to find we started somewhere in the middle!

I know, it doesn’t make a hang of a lot of sense to me either.

Everything in life has beginning and end points. Seasons, workdays, sport, household chores, eating a meal, family get togethers: they all start somewhere, and end somewhere else. Things like a scheduled workday are easy to define, because they are usually set to a time we can read on the clock. Sport is much the same, either there is a defined length of the match, a specific number of games played, or the game ends when a particular score is reached. Household chores can be a bit more difficult to classify, depending on the desired end point. As a simple example, if someone is asked to “empty the dishwasher,” there is the literal meaning of getting the dishes out of it, whereas to others loading the dirty dishes from the bench is a logical party of it. Still, there is a knowable endpoint. Eating a meal can have a few finishing points, two common ones being all the food is eaten or the stomach is full. Family gatherings can be a day like a birthday, or a weekend, or a specified longer period of time – or until it is wise to part ways again!

Many things are much more difficult to contain in a specified time frame or length of thing. How does one know when a book they are writing is finished? For that matter, how does one know when the story within is finished? Is there a display of fireworks out from the page? When does a musician know a song they are working on is complete? Is something missing that needs to be added or is it ready to be shared with listeners? As a self proclaimed writer and musician these are two things which vex me… a bit. I’m working on being ok with things not being perfect, instead as good as I can make them in a reasonable time frame, because I want to share them. I think there is something to them, maybe even pieces within which will connect with readers and listeners, and in turn encourage them to connect with others.

Another thing which has a defined start but doesn’t have a definitive endpoint is lockdown due to Covid-19. It has been, and in places continues to be, necessary to prevent spread of the virus. But, not knowing when this isolation to a small bubble of people will end can be difficult. When do things go back to “normal”? Do we want them to go back or is something new and different more desirable?

Now, to come full circle, all the way back to the beginning of this post: All things have a beginning and an end. It’s what we do with the time in the middle that makes it what it is. What are you doing with that time?

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Things are tough sometimes. Heck the past two weeks for me have felt more down than up. Take heart, that you are still here, that you are the wonderful, unique person that is you. I pray that tomorrow for you contains peace, at least for some solace of a moment.

Keep on keeping on being awesome. PEACE.

Cover photo by Dom J from Pexels.