Exiting Gracefully

There is something extremely cathartic about writing. When you actually have the discipline to do it, that is. That's half the battle, actually sitting down to write down whatever it is that comes to mind.

I'm finding my life keeps taking turns, some expected, some unexpected. But somehow I keep managing to put one foot in front of the other. I keep managing to pick up the pieces when my heart gets broken. I keep managing to turn my face to God even when the world around me is telling me to do otherwise.

"There's a trick to the graceful exit. It begins with the vision to recognize when a job, a life stage, a relationship is over — and to let go. It means leaving what's over without denying its validity or its past importance in our lives. It involves a sense of future, a belief that every exit line is an entry, that we are moving on, rather than out. It's hard to learn that we don't leave the best parts of ourselves behind, back in the dugout or the office. We own what we learned back there. The experiences and the growth are grafted onto our lives. And when we exit, we can take ourselves along — quite gracefully." Ellen Goodman, columnist