Sunday Night With John: Everything Ends

Everything ends, a simple fact that should guide our actions to work to keep good things going, and allow us to walk away from things that need to end. The fact that everything ends instead, has a crippling effect on our ability to navigate through life. We are either afraid of something ending, so we make decisions to prolong a bad situation we hope turns for the good, or we forget everything ends and forget to nurture good things to allow them to run as long as possible. 

It's why we continue to lie to a loved one because the honest truth might end the relationship. It's why we make excuses for a bad partner because if we stop making excuses, we have to face the fact that it would be better for it to end. We justify our choices by saying, well I've put this much time into it, it'd be a waste to move on, or it's not the right time to come clean on my lies because they are under too much pressure and I don't want to add to their pain. The simple fact behind all those excuses is that the truth to them or ourselves might change our life forever and we can't face the fact everything ends. 

On the flip side we take for granted the good things on the premise it won't end because it already is good. It's how friends drift apart, it's how marriages end with both people saying they still care for each other but don't love each other. It's how when someone dies too soon, we end up with a long list of regrets about stuff left on the list of things we wanted to do with them. In these situations relationships slip away to an ending we didn't want because we forget to capture moments everyday. 

It's why I go with my finacee on her errand trips to the grocery store and it's why she goes with me to watch comic book movies. It's why my brother and I have long conversations on our drive home from work even though we have completely different political views. I'd rather argue than allow it to end because I disagree with him. It's why my buddy Kyle and I still play video games and chat about it like it's real life. It's why I have yearly camping trip with college buddies. It's also why some people are no longer in my life because my time is going to be spent cultivating relationships that I don't want to end, even though one day they will. 

Everything ends, a simple fact that should free us all to the truth of the people of our lives, not the truth we hope them to be.