Parting and such

 

17 AUGUST, 2009

PARTING AND SUCH

Parting is like the snapping of a stretched rubber-band. You know that it will happen at a point, but it always appears abrupt when it happens. The joy of fond memories and the sadness of leaving the person who was instrumental in them create the ultimate bitter-sweet moment. How should we read the affair? What should we take away with us from the scene?


 


There is a reading lamp in my room. It helps brighten things up before I head to sleep. If the lamp is turned the other way, if it no longer meets me in the eye, there is still light reflected from the wall. Not the same intensity, but enough brightness to sustain my activities. If the lamp is turned off, there is darkness. If this was the only lamp in my whole life, the transition would be shattering. Thankfully, we realize that as our mind is cast back into the past and forward into the future, there are a few lamps in this hypothetical room, some turned the other way, some turned off, and some slowly trailing away – but together they keep things bright. The glow changes when any of them fades but it also makes way for brighter prospects.

Parting can be of several degrees, like the fading luminosity of lamps. And while there is a bitter element to it, the sweet part should not be lost on us. The band only snaps after being stretched and there is much to cherish during this course.

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