Goodbyes, farewells and welcomes

One of the most challenging things about this place is the goodbyes. It’s part of the rhythm of life here and whilst you anticipate the dates, it doesn’t make saying those goodbyes any easier. The summer is a particularly challenging time for the lived community as people come to volunteer for short periods of time and can have a huge impact, and then there are goodbyes to the people who have lived here for a year or more.

There are things about living here which are hard to explain to those who’ve never experienced the intensity of it. The impact a small group of people can have on your sense of yourself, your personal growth and professional development is astounding. The ways that I see the world have been challenged again and again this last year and whilst there are people I have shared experiences with who I will probably never see again, there are also those I know will be some of the closest friends I have for years to come.

It’s strange to anticipate another year here without all of the volunteers I have shared this last year with, especially now that every one of the people I started with last October have moved on to their next adventures. Nevertheless, I know that the people I share this year with will also challenge me and make me think in new, unanticipated ways in the weeks and months to come.

So is it goodbye or farewell? We talk a lot about the importance of the language we use and frankly, regardless of whether you call it a goodbye or a farewell, it’s still difficult to close out on those relationships and move them to long distance ones. It’s hard to say goodbye and I have found that small pieces of my heart have fractured over the last few weeks. The fractures are adding to the pile I already have for people who are and have been important to me so far in my life. Regardless of age, there are people that have come and gone in my life who have shaped me and they may have been family members or friends or even people with whom I’ve had small conversations with in a train station in the middle of nowhere.

We open ourselves up to feel connected and loved and to engage in deep and difficult conversations but there is always an impact. There is always a goodbye to come. If we don’t open ourselves up, if I don’t break down some of the walls that surround me then some of those deep and lasting relationships won’t happen. We are encouraged to be open-hearted and to let people in and that requires a lot of trust individually. The experience sucks you in, chews you up and spits you back out changed and grown. Along the way there is life, love and laughter, as well as conflict and tears, and then relationships that don’t have to end but change when we say farewell.

After the farewell is the welcome. We have to wake up as ready as possible to welcome new people and to open ourselves up to new relationships. To have new and exciting times with people and to have a different experience of love, life and laughter and connect with a whole new group of people with the same level of open-heartedness that we welcomed the previous groups. In our daily lives we experience this all the time, if less intensely, and I relish the fact that I have the opportunity to pause, commemorate and ready myself for the time to come.

So thank you for those who came, for those who are here and those who are yet to come. Welcome to all and farewell to those who have moved on. I will miss you.