Goodbyes.
I've had to say goodbye more times than I would have liked.
But I guess everyone can say that.
I'm not talking about the see you later goodbye or the goodbye we automatically address to a waiter.
I refer to THE goodbye. The one that tears up our throat and make our eyes go all wetty when we say it.
We all know it. No matter what the circumstance is.
This goodbye is usually said to people who really matter to us and it for instance occurs when we are moving far enough from them that they won't be as easily reachable as they were.
What makes this moment difficult is that we are aware that not only we're saying goodbye to a person, we're saying goodbye to a relationship. Deep down we know that this bond won't be the same anymore.
It may progressively vanished as the time goes by or get stronger. It merely depends on individuals.
But when we say goodbye we don't know how things will be and it's confusing. It feels like a chapter of our life is done and somehow we are scared of the upcoming one. It's the unknown part of our future that spook us.
The thing is, no matter how many times we do it, even when it's for the greater good, it still stinks. It really does. And though we will never forget what we've given up, we owe it to ourselves to keep moving forward.
What we can't do, is live our lives always afraid of the next goodbye, because chances are, they're not going to stop.
The trick is to recognize when a goodbye can be a good thing, when it's a chance to start again, a chance to discover new things, to meet new people.
Helloes.
And when meeting someone for the first time, the adage wants the conversation to start with "Hello!".
When we think about it, this word is the nicest thing someone can say to a perfect stranger.
We could perfectly say what we want to say without saying "Hello". We don't need it to make our speech understandable. But still we say it. And for what other reason than expecting a nice and courteous conversation with someone.
Hint: Add a smile! It's painless and makes everything just brighter.
Anyway, just think that this little word "Hello" can be the first stone set to the foundation of a great relationship.
We are probably missing great relationship with great people just by not talking to them. Sometimes we just hold back and get shy to talk to someone we think is interesting and worth knowing.
We should just jump and do what we really want to do. What is it that's holding us back?
If it's not literally a 200 pounds ball chained to our feet then we have no excuses.
There is beauty in the world and guess what humans being are part of this beauty. So say Hello to it as much as you can.
Goodbyes are part of life. If they hurt it just means that the first Hello involved was a blessing.
Wissam Bounejra
[email protected]
London, England