Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to plan a closing ceremony. When you
Speaker 1: know a chapter of your life is coming to an end,
Speaker 1: do something to mark that end. That moment for reflection
Speaker 1: can make life feel more rich and full. So, as
Speaker 1: country singer Brad Paisley sings in his song, there is
Speaker 1: a last time for everything, but we don't always know
Speaker 1: when that last time is happening. Maybe it's waking up
Speaker 1: at five am to see what Santa brought. There will
Speaker 1: come a year when your kids don't do that, but
Speaker 1: you don't know for sure when they are doing it
Speaker 1: one particular Christmas morning that that will be the last
Speaker 1: early Christmas morning, and the next year they will be
Speaker 1: big enough to sleep in. Many of us have said
Speaker 1: goodbye to relatives, assuming we were saying goodbye for a
Speaker 1: little bit, not forever in this world at least, But
Speaker 1: life can change quickly. We can't always know when something
Speaker 1: is the last time, but for some things we do know.
Speaker 1: When you graduate from an institution, you are ending your
Speaker 1: time there as a student. That is why we have
Speaker 1: a big ceremony to mark the moment. When you leave
Speaker 1: a job, you often do something to mark the end
Speaker 1: of your tenure, particularly if you've been there for a while.
Speaker 1: Those are big, obvious endings, but even many smaller endings
Speaker 1: represent real change in a life. Acknowledging that change can
Speaker 1: make transitions more mindful. So, for instance, if you have
Speaker 1: worked for three months with a team on a project,
Speaker 1: do something real to mark the end of the project.
Speaker 1: It doesn't have to be a dinner if that doesn't
Speaker 1: really work well for everyone. Simply ordering a team lunch
Speaker 1: or having a quick ceremony on zoom where you all
Speaker 1: share your favorite memory can send everyone off with good
Speaker 1: feelings and maybe remind you that you would like to
Speaker 1: work with these people again. Same with a volunteer project.
Speaker 1: You don't have to let it just slowly end. Acknowledge
Speaker 1: the ending, and talk about what you are taking from
Speaker 1: the experience. I've always thought it would be great if
Speaker 1: social groups would acknowledge an end to their get togethers.
Speaker 1: This book club was great for a year, and now
Speaker 1: people are getting too busy. Take a moment to acknowledge
Speaker 1: this and thank everyone for being part of it, and
Speaker 1: maybe share a funny anecdote, Even things that might seem
Speaker 1: a bit silly can be worth a closing ceremony. Many
Speaker 1: of us spend a lot of time in our cars,
Speaker 1: so if you are trading your car in and getting
Speaker 1: a new one, you might take a moment to acknowledge
Speaker 1: all that time, thank the car for its service, or
Speaker 1: at least talk with your family members about memories you
Speaker 1: share from time you spent in that car. When we
Speaker 1: sold our old house earlier this year, I took the
Speaker 1: kids back there one last time to walk through it.
Speaker 1: We knew that would be the last time we would
Speaker 1: be there, so we wanted to walk through the halls
Speaker 1: and think about our memories. Yes, home is wherever we
Speaker 1: all are together, but we made a lot of memories
Speaker 1: in that home. It was nice to have one last
Speaker 1: night to acknowledge that. In general, people don't always like
Speaker 1: thinking about endings. That's why we call graduations commencements, like
Speaker 1: it's the beginning of something, and it is, but it
Speaker 1: is also a finishing. We don't always like to acknowledge
Speaker 1: that things will end. Like social groups. Perhaps it reminds
Speaker 1: us in a way of our mortality. I've realized that
Speaker 1: while I have watched a lot of Olympic opening ceremonies.
Speaker 1: I really haven't watched that many closing ceremonies. I imagine
Speaker 1: many of us are like that. But how we end matters.
Speaker 1: An end can make a conscious transition that allows us
Speaker 1: to mindfully close one book as we open another. We
Speaker 1: can reflect on the memories and start moving forward with
Speaker 1: fewer loose ends. So plan a closing ceremony for any
Speaker 1: endings in your life that can make the passing time
Speaker 1: feel a little more special and less like a loss.
Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our talks. Hey everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod
Speaker 1: that's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is
Speaker 1: a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from
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