Not all chapters in our lives are long. Some are short. Of course, not every chapter ends well or satisfactory. They can be painfully long, dark, and hopeless. Whether it’s sickness, death, or betrayal, the ache and pain of that chapter tarries far longer than one needs. Despair weighs heavily. But sometimes, after such a chapter ends, we unexpectedly begin the next new chapter with a bolder, happier beginning for the next phase in our lives. Light at the end of the tunnel, they say.
As readers and writers, we often skim through chapters that make us uneasy or we find boring. We have that choice and luxury. But in real-life chapters, there’s no skipping ahead. There’s endurance, which can build patience, and unfortunately sometimes, resentment. One must face challenges and even betrayal in life. Fragile pieces of our aura get shattered. We are left to pick up the pieces in an attempt to fix them in the future, or we leave the fragments behind. Either way, who we are or what we were has changed. One might continue to the next chapter having gained experience and the reassurance that if we face a similar event in the future, our previous survival aids us with the knowledge of moving through the next trial a bit easier.
Regardless of who we are, we all face frustrating hardships. People we love and have trusted let us down or hurt us so badly that we can never view them in the same light we once did. Liars burn bridges of trust and those bridges are often never repairable. The divide never reconnects.
The biggest problem with these absent bridges is it makes crossing new bridges to meet new people difficult because we worry how sturdy these untested bridges are for us. Caution sets in. We’re reminded of the pain we experienced when previous trusts dissolved. Emotionally, we risk a lot in venturing across. But, we’ve no way to know the outcome without taking the chance. We must be brave. Who knows? Across a new bridge and into a new chapter, one might find the joy and happiness he or she has sought.
In books, characters come and go. The same is true in real life. People I once viewed as friends, I’ve lost over the years. I’ve no idea where they’ve gone. Nothing bad separated us. We simply lost touch. Life has a way of separating us due to our decisions and careers.
We’ve no guarantee for how many chapters are in our books. Some books end far shorter than others, and we wish those had more chapters to share. Those exceptionally long books are filled with stories we need to listen to. I’ve often viewed the loss of our older relatives with grievous sadness. The memories these folks had are also gone and these are treasures lost, unless they physically wrote them down.
Regardless of our current chapter in life, let’s strive to reach the end of this chapter and flip to a happier beginning in the next chapter. And also, if you have elderly aunts, uncles, and grandparents who are still alive, I’m certain they would love to share the chapters of their lives with you. Seek those stories while you have the opportunity!