When the end is just the beginning.

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It's the end of the line.  You've done all you can do, tried everything you could think of, given it your all.  What do you do next?  You simply move on knowing that you are at the beginning of a new adventure.  There is no such thing as an end.  Many people profess that they are at the end of their rope, the end of their journey, the end of whatever it is that they were hoping for.  Truth be told, what many classify as the end is nothing more then a launching pad to your next thing or endeavor.

I am reading a wonderful book right now and  it is about the ability to let go of things.  Release the past, whether it be hurt, failure, pain, even some of the good that may have come to your life.  When we hold on to things that no longer serve us it only keeps us locked in places that we really don't want to be in.  I for one have had to learn this the hard way, but I am making strides in this area each passing day.  But I digress.

If you believe as I do that time is nothing but an illusion, as Einstein said, then can you ever be at the end.  I mean if time is nothing more then something that man created to provide him a reference point, then isn't it safe to assume that you can create your own timeline, even if it is in direct contradiction to what the rest of society thinks?  We have so screwed ourselves by trying to adhere to what other people feel is the right time to do this or do that.  We have abdicated our rightful place and instead we have lined the streets with a lot of worry, fear, uncertainty, doubt, and then we continue to go down the same street each and every day.  It's a wonder more people don't go mad, but I digress again.

So what do I mean when I say that the end is simply the beginning?  It's really simple:  we keep going, and going, and going.  We never stop.  There will never be a time in our lives when we stop evolving.  There will never be a time in our lives when we can simply just sit back and say that it is finished.  Even at the time of our eventual death we continue to exist.  We are spiritual beings, and that means that we are eternal.  We have always been and will always be.  Certainly the day will come when this mortal body gives out, but then we are on to our next adventure.  The same can be said about our earthly experience.  When we finish one task, one lesson, it is time to move on to the next one.

I will give you that not everything we experience in life is pleasant.  There are things that we all go through that we would like to forget about.  No matter what we go through, it is always a learning process, and with each new experience comes understanding and growth.  So even if you are at the end of your rope, simply find the good in what has transpired and use it to move you forward.  Moving forward is really the only option you have since there is no such thing as an end.

Let me give you an example and see if this does not hit home.  You are traveling on a train to a certain destination.  You are about to come into the last stop on the line, what do you do?  If in fact this is the end of the line, you can either get out of the train and merrily go to the place you were destined to go, or you can simply sit on the train and do nothing.  If you do nothing, then I guess maybe you have come to the end of the line, but is it really the end of the line?  I mean, you have a place to go, otherwise why would you have gotten on the train in the first place.  The train you just traveled on was nothing more then a vehicle to get you where you wanted to be.  Even though the train has come to a stop, that doesn't mean your adventure has.  Are you beginning to see what I am saying?  There is no end.  We use the train to get us to our final destination, but if you never get off the train, then you never get to where you were first intending to go.

Even if life has tossed you situations that have been lousy, that does not mean that all is lost, and it certainly doesn't mean that you are going to be stuck on the train forever.  You need to pick yourself up, stop off the train and simply continue to move toward the final destination.  When I take the train from Portland to Boston, I am not taking the train just to ride to Boston.  There are things that I am planning on doing while in town.  When I get off the train in Boston, that's when my adventure really begins.  This is life.  When you have been tossed about by every manner of crap in your life, simply realize that this is the end of the line, and it's time to get off the train and really let the adventure begin.

So what's next?  Will you simply stay put and refuse to move, or are you going to step off the train and really experience those things that you need to experience while on this journey?  You can stay put, but then you will have traveled a long, long way for nothing.  If I simply stayed on the train in Boston and never got off, I would have wasted an awful lot of time for nothing.  Instead I step off the train and now I get to experience all that Boston has to offer, and I really get to enjoy my time there.  The decision is yours.  Will you stay seated, or will you do the only logical thing and step off the train and into the excitement that comes when you arrive at your destination?  You see, the end is really the beginning, and what an adventure you will have when you allow yourself the opportunity to step off that train that has reached the end of the line.  Have a great trip, and let me know how it goes.