Good Byes and False Promises

Sometimes saying “Good bye” to someone is a joy. We’ve all met individuals to whom we were glad to say “adios.” There are others with whom the parting is not so welcomed. Yet coming and going, meeting and departing, they are aspects of our lives on an almost daily basis.

Sometimes when we say “Good bye” we swear we will keep in touch. We promise to call, email, FaceBook, text one another, or maybe even actually write a letter. We mean well. We have the best of intentions. But do we actually keep in touch?

As I left my job last night for the final time, I said good bye to a number of people who had become close co-workers. No promises were made. Someone said she’d text me, and I responded that she shouldn’t take it personally if I didn’t respond quickly. I’m not great at keeping in touch with people. Just being honest.

Another chapter of life concludes, maybe even the ending of a book, making way for the first chapter of yet a new volume to be composed. Life doesn’t suffer from writer’s block. It moves forward from moment to moment without asking for permission or direction for plot development.

Every life has its own history. Each moment has its own story. They pass before us, maybe lingering for a moment, and then they’re gone. Sometimes we make false promises, with good intentions, to hold onto the past. Sometimes we’re honest enough to admit that life moves forward and that sometimes we have to let go of people that used to hold important positions in our lives. Sometimes we just have to let go.

Truly there is no coming, no going. It’s all just a dream, a projection, an illusion. We’ve never moved from our true nature. Only we’ve forgotten we’re already home.

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