Saying Goodbye, The Holistic Way

I’ve been saying goodbye to many people recently: (not just because we are moving to a different country) people who were once an active part of my life have fallen away.

What I find so beautiful in the Hindi word “Namaste” is that it not only translates to “hello” and “goodbye,” but it literally means, “the light in me bows to the light in you.” I feel within this word encapsulates the entire attitude we should have towards friends and lovers, past and present. It was the light that brought us together, and that light, that inner beauty is always to be respected. Even when parting ways you should remember and bow to that inner divinity.

Everyone is meant to enter your life for a certain reason, and sometimes that time is limited. We should not cling to friendship as something that will never be broken, but rather something temporary that is to be celebrated. Everything beautiful is transient; cherish its presence but do not mourn its loss. Friendship arrives spontaneously and it can also leave spontaneously. When that feeling of love is no longer there, thank them for the joy they’ve brought you and wish them well on their journey. Behind every person leaving your life they’ve left a space of peace and serenity, a fertile ground where new love can flourish and grow. The more you are in touch with your inner self, your true self, the more your friendships born from this self-knowledge will bear sweet fruit. This is the only real friendship, all else is an imitation based on the ego. Many times we go on collecting people just from fear of being alone. We think about how we can become friends with someone to use them for something.

Saying goodbye to someone who has been a friend to you is not easy, but it is sometimes necessary. Friendship is an exchange of energy. When that energy becomes unbalanced, it means the friendship has ended.

It is the most natural thing that it should be this way. The cells of the body are constantly renewing themselves. When they stop, it means you are dead. You as well must continually renew yourself. Be open to shedding the old to make room for the new, thank the past for its gifts but remain firmly planted in the present.