Chiang Mai is a place of goodbyes. So many people come and go. Of the friends that we've made this year, the vast majority only intended to stay for a little while. And true to their word, they have begun to disperse. I'm sad for the people who stay. What must it be like to always say goodbye? I suppose the comfort comes in knowing there will soon be others to take their place.
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| A going-away gathering for our friend Matt |
So how do we go about the process of leaving? We tried to leave our life in Dallas well, but I'm afraid we fell short. WikiHow lists 17 steps for "How to Say Goodbye to Your Best Friend That is Moving," although I'm pretty sure they were written by a 13-year old girl. I could make friendship bracelets for all my friends and try not to blame the move on their parents, but we're grownups now, right? We're supposed to do things in grownup ways. Grownups don't make friendship bracelets, do they?
I think Snoopy said it best:
"Why can't we get all the people together in the world that we really like and then just stay together? I guess that wouldn't work. Someone would leave. Someone always leaves. Then we would have to say good-bye. I hate good-byes. I know what I need. I need more hellos." –Charles M. Schulz
Love the post as it's so fitting for my life.
ReplyDelete" I'm sad for the people who stay. What must it be like to always say goodbye? I suppose the comfort comes in knowing there will soon be others to take their place."
I'm sad for those who dwell on the goodbye rather than the times had. If I dwelt on the goodbyes of the last nine years of my life from living in a college town and now a transient international hub of missionaries... then I would never want to meet anyone new or even give them a chance. There's definitely no comfort in the next, as they aren't the past. There is just life and the pursuit of relationship in the next. That's all the advice I can offer, especially as you soon will leave too. You can't be replaced - there is no other you [as cloning Justin would be illegal, I'm sure].
It's so true what the comment says about dwelling on the goodbye or the times you had... I have learned this past year especially that when you can be grateful for the moments and relationships in the past and what they've added to your life and how they've contributed to who you are, but still live in the moment you're in and appreciate the things going on in the now, that's when you find peace about the good-byes and changes... praying for peace for you!
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