No More Goodbyes

Let me start off first by saying that I hate goodbyes. Don’t get me wrong, I love seeing family and friends before departing somewhere, and I truly enjoy the hugs, kisses, handshakes and parting messages. BUT, I do not at all like the concept of goodbye. I believe it is just so unfitting for what we truly are. If we were merely limited physical creatures it would make sense to me. It would be sad when people leave because when they were physically away they would be truly lost to us. But I find that is not the case at all.

We humans are magnificent creatures, with hearts and souls that possess more capabilities than we can possibly imagine. We are always connected through those faculties of love. I know that wherever I go in life, no matter how far away in distance or in time, I am FOREVER connected to the people that I love (to all people really). I can feel that connection all around me, from those that have passed away to those that I am able to presently share this physical life with. They all remain engrained in my thoughts and etched in my heart. At the mere thought of one of my loved ones, the illusionary gap of time and space is bridged instantaneously by the most awesome power in the universe…love. And I am mentally transported to a place beyond all laws of nature and all understanding, a place where our souls have been connected, are connected, and will forever be connected…a place where we are never apart, where goodbye doesn’t exist.

These are some of the thoughts that raged through my mind as I was saying goodbye to family and friends in the weeks before leaving for Namibia. And as my mom was crying at the airport, saying goodbye to her son, feeling the illusion of the separation to come, I couldn’t help but laugh. I thought, “there is nothing to be sad about, I love you, I will always love you, we are eternally connected and NOTHING can ever change that.” Shortly after saying “goodbye”, I got on the airplane, traveled thousands of miles across the sea, and here I remain…with the same closeness, the same infinite love that I have for my parents, my family, my friends…my humanity. There are no such things as goodbyes, I have deemed them to be a myth.