Turning the End Into the Beginning

With the ending of a year, a new one is beginning. In one’s work life, a job ends and hopefully a new one begins. 
 
In my own life, over the last 13 years, I’ve seen the years change, my career change (from public finance and local government service to mediation), and my home change from upstate New York to Chicago.
 
It’s been a saying of mine that life is a book of many chapters. In a marriage that ends, that chapter of your life will conclude. This ending, just like a difficult year, may make you want to forget the bad experiences. Given the emotional duress that often comes with divorce, that may not be easy.
 
Hopefully, but not always, the episode that is ending had its bright moments, and these are the memories to preserve. In every challenge, there is a lesson to be carried to the next phase of life. We can learn so much from life experiences; we are wiser for what we take away. While there is a tendency to bury what has been hurtful or difficult, we should strive to review our experiences as a teaching opportunity to guide us forward into the future. 
 
In mediation, my hope is that our time together will help create a bridge from the past into the future, shaped by lessons learned and goals that you can set for yourselves. 

Just as every new year provides a blank slate for us to continue writing the story of our lives, one’s life after divorce is a new chapter of one’s own making. In mediation, my hope is that our time together will help create a bridge from the past into the future, shaped by lessons learned and goals that you can set for yourselves. 
 
As we leave the year 2022 and move away from jobs, homes or marriages, I encourage you to embrace the natural transition from an ending to a beginning—a fresh start in life’s journey.