Today, I am saying goodbye to the people that I have worked with for the past 16 months. It has brought up a myriad of emotions. I wasn't expecting that at all.
I've been given a gift of a 'life lesson' as my Spiritual Director has told me. In the past, I have managed to leave places without every really saying good bye. I sit in wonder why at age 40, I've finally found out how to do this. It has always seemed to be much easier when there were hard feelings associated with leaving a place. Somehow, this justifies the departure. Simply seeing a different place to go is very different for me.
I think of all the times people have left my life without a good bye. Friends have died, moved away and moved on. I doubt I handled those well.
I wonder how I will handle it in the future, after having learned this life lesson.
The folks with whom we work become our friends. And our work becomes part of our identity.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to lose friends or to change our identity.