Saying Good Bye

It happens to everyone. When you are young, you are SURE it will never affect you.

As you get older, you think of it happening to “Them”.

But there comes a point in everyone’s lives when they have to deal with the one thing that no one
seems to want to do- Say Good Bye.

It starts with pets, perhaps. Or it could be a relative or friend that moves away. Sometimes
if you are in public school, you would say good bye to classmates or teachers or both. Maybe you are moving.

The thing is – it is hard to say good bye. Sometimes it happens when you are ready and it does not hit
very hard. Other times it happens at a weak moment and you might find yourself crying and crying over
someone you might not have even known that well, but they affected your life in some way.

How do we work on saying good bye?

Having been on many sides of this issue, it seems to go back down to one thing- make the most of every day
because you never know when it might be your last.

Is that fatalistic? NO! It does help us with behaviors that don’t always make sense or help us.

HOARDER?

Are you a hoarder? How would it affect that behavior if you found out you only had a year to live?

DUMPER?

Are you the type of person who calls anyone who will listen to you, but all you want to do is dump all of your problems
on them and walk away? Have you ever caught yourself sounding off and hanging up to dear ones or friends? What if you found
out that those conversations would be your last with that person- you would never see them again?

CAREER PERSON?

How about the person who has gotten trapped on the treadmill of career? Just one more lap, one more hour, one more year and
you can achieve a title or office you just KNOW will give you that satisfaction you were missing. Have you suddenly realized
that all of those you used to enjoy being with- conversations, enjoying the simple things of life- were no longer there? Perhaps
they got tired of calling, contacting, emailing, etc and have moved on. How about death? What if that thing you told
yourself for years about talking to them later never really came to pass and those people were gone from the earth, never
to be seen by you again? Would your career satisfy your need for friendship or companions?

PUNISHER?

Are you the type of person who gets irritated with someone and then to teach them a lesson give them the
silent treatment? What if you found out that one of those people would die while you were doing that? Would
you change your approach?

DRIFTER?

Are you the type who can not stay with one person or place very long? What if you were to find out that
you were going to be gone in a year and no one would be there with you? How would that change your way of living?

BUSY BUSY?

How about the “busy busy” line? Have you found yourself doing the busy busy thing? People ask how you are, but your
only reply is to repeat the mantra “Busy busy” and ramble on about how life is just so busy all of the time? How would
that change if you found out those people you just tossed the mantra at would die and you would never see them again? How
about if ALL of the people you thought would be there suddenly were not?