Once Upon a Time, The End.

The 10th Doctor once said: ""People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly... timey-wimey... stuff."*

However, until Time Travel becomes widely available, for our intents and purposes, Time is linear.**

Which means that all things have both a beginning and ... an end. 

Everyone loves a beginning, especially a good one. No one, I don't think, loves an end, as inevitable as they are, and messy endings are held in particularly low regard.

This summer had some messy endings. Threads, shall we say, were not neatly snipped. They were sort of frayed beyond recognition, until they finally let go.

I'm okay with it. I have to be. I can't reverse the flow of time and change anything (sadly lacking a TARDIS), so I have to learn to live with what's happened -- a task that, as I get older, I find easier and easier. Perhaps because I have learned that LIFE is like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff that you get to look at, take apart, put back together, and learn from.

The learning is important. So too, I've finally figured out, is then releasing whatever came with the ending. It might be joy or laughter -- if so, good for you! Some endings are happy ones. Releasing that into the world is a wonderful thing, good for everyone around you. It might be stress or resentment or anger or sorrow. Let that go, too -- holding onto the weight of that can't be good for you. Putting those burdens down frees your arms to pick something else back up.

Because things end.  They have to.  And once they have, something else can begin. Time may be linear, but possibility reaches out to infinity.

*Oh yeah, I just quoted Dr Who. Because I am a dork.

**With the exception of Sunday afternoons, which stretch out into etermity in all directions. They're a special case.