I didn’t break down or even leak when one of my most favorite people and I said goodbye after 8 months of travel together!
Regardless if they are professional or personal, permanent or temporary, goodbyes are a part of life and stir up many different emotions.
For me, goodbyes have always been difficult! Reflecting on this, I realized that I have always set myself up to make it more difficult than it needs to be. Somewhere along the way, early in life I learned and came to believe all goodbyes are supposed to be hard. They are supposed to bring the feeling of loss and sadness. And oh, lots of tears!
Although we have the intention of meeting up again in the near future, I still felt the threat of tears several times leading up to our goodbye. I realized this was happening regardless of my dislikes for goodbyes or not and that I had a choice to either set myself up for pain or focus on supporting myself in a positive way. Rather than focusing on what I would miss and visualizing us no longer spending time together, I began focusing on the present moment, the good times we’ve shared and the exciting times that lay ahead for the both of us.
After a fun-filled morning together; cutting his hair and beard trim, challenges of packing my backpack (not a minimalist like I believed I was…LOL), brunch and a card game, it would be time to part ways. Even though I made a conscious effort to change my mindset the last several days and prepared for our goodbye, my friend, knowing me so well, still knew if I saw him walk away, my eyes would surely leak. So he decided to add a fun twist to our parting. Our last stop together was dropping off a bag of stuff at the thrift store. The fun twist-I would go inside alone to drop off the bag and when I returned outside, he would be gone!
It helped!
Standing on the sidewalk alone, I didn’t tear up! What I experienced was a completely new and strange feeling, one I have never felt before. It is hard to put it into words, but it was a physical sensation. I could physically feel the space, an energy around me. Perhaps it was a relief that the goodbye went well and that I didn’t break down, or perhaps it was a sign from the universe that I was not alone, and was going to be okay!
So with that, I took a deep breath, smiled, and excitedly began to walk towards the next chapter of my journey!
*picture captured in the Sahara Desert, Morocco