“Life is made of ever so many partings welded together”
These words from Dickens Great Expectations resonated with me as a teenager when I first read the book at school, but it was not until I reached a more mature age that I had further insight on what Dickens might mean.
I look back over my life and see people who have come and gone and flowed through my life like a river. Some of been on the journey with me for a long time (and still are) like my husband and best friends from school, and others have come and gone.
These partings have not been through anger or arguments but just through the general ebb and flow of life. I’ve been musing on why certain people have come into my life at certain times. These encounters have either been positive or negative experiences but whichever they are, they are always learning experiences. Someone who has challenged me is a gift for learning as much as someone who has been my champion and supported me along the way, these encounters happen for a reason.
As a self-confessed control freak, I find the shifting sands of life, the constant changes and the need to adjust challenging at times. But this is where I find having a regular yoga and meditation practice helps keep me grounded. Whatever external stuff is going on in my life; from the people who challenge me, to the people who inspire me and the people who will fight for me and support me, I know I have a yoga mat and a practice that provides a safe haven. Every time I step on the mat or sit in meditation it’s a different experience, but it feels like coming home. It also helps me appreciate now is the only time we’ve got, we’ve only got one shot at this life. Keeping this present moment awareness (it’s an aspiration not often a reality!) makes me appreciate all those partings with both a sense of sadness at the impermanence of everything and a sense of huge gratitude for the people who have been on this journey with me in whatever form that has taken.