Insight #6: Loose ends

Welcome to Insight #6; On loose ends.

• As humans we have a natural tendency to finish what we start. This is a useful instinct, it helps us to go through with the things we need to get done. However I would like to take a perspective on this instinct from that of stories.

• We all love a good story. We are constantly watching tv, reading books, and consuming all kinds of media containing great arduous journeys, and from what we noted above, we like it when all the loose ends are tied up nice and tight in the end and the credits roll on a happily ever after.

• Of course, life does not really work that way. Even if we accomplish something absolutely extraordinary, at the end of the day we “cross the street and go home, life goes on”. This might go contrary to most media we consume, leaving us a bit lost on what to do after such big events in our lives, or even small ones. It feels like we can’t catch a break sometimes.

• However I believe this is of course the way it should be. Not everything can be completed, not everything has an end to it, In fact most things worth pursuing do not have one, for having one means that their value is limited, however great the number could be.

• So, perhaps now you have an excuse to let that something you have been gripping tight to, go. Letting go is not defeat, it is a recognition that you’ve had enough and that that is as far as you are willing to take it. There is nothing wrong with that. So be okay with having some loose ends around you. If you tied them all, what would be left? We all need something to look forward to…