Goodbye

Goodbye is such a funny word, isn't it. It implies happiness. We say 'Good morning', 'Goodnight', and for some rural folks 'Gudday'. But when we say this we generally want this person to have a pleasant morning, an agreeable night, a fantastic day. But we don't often want to say goodbye to people. Once in a while a person comes into your life that you never want to leave. But if history has taught us anything it's that things will always end. That nothing is forever. And try as we might we must all say goodbye at some point.

Goodbyes can be easier, or they can be hard. If we don't particularity like the person than it's more than easy to say 'goodbye, and good riddance'. But when we love that person then the parting is never good. It may occasionally be sweet sorrow, but it usually isn't. It's that fact that time is marching on; and all that we have left is the memories in our heads. And even they can be eroded away by time.

Often in the movies the hero has plenty of time to say goodbye. The bullet takes time to snuff out the candle of life, or the plane patiently waits for the monologue to end. But life isn't like a film. We don't get what we dream. They may die before we expect them to. The plane might need to leave now. And we never get the goodbye we want. Instead we say bye in a hopeful tone, that one day we'll meet again.

Perhaps that's why we say goodbye, not because we hate the ending, but because we wait the beginning. Not because we fear that we won't see each other again, but we hope that our passes will cross. At the end of the day no goodbye can be permanent if you don't want it to be. While they say nothing lasts forever, a goodbye can be the shortest thing in the world. And if it really is the last goodbye then make it one of hope, not despair. Because you never know when you might say hi again.