It’s OK to grieve when you close a door.
You’ve heard the expression, “When one door closes, another one opens,” right? It’s usually said to help you feel better when an opportunity you wanted doesn’t come through.
But what about the situation when YOU are the one actively choosing to close a door? No one talks about that. Or at least, I haven’t seen it talked about – – so I’m gonna do it.
I just took another step in closing down my Nan Lewis Jewelry business – – I deleted the Facebook Page for it. First I unpublished it, so only I can see it now, and it will disappear for good in 14 days.
But I couldn’t just let it be totally gone… I downloaded all the info from Facebook and saved it on my computer.
What is this feeling?
Now I’m wandering around feeling kinda down. Took a walk outside. Ate my lunch on the porch to feel the warmth of the sunshine. But I still feel sad. I find myself thinking, “Yeah…I just closed a door, that’s why I feel sad. But…you WANTED to close it, and now you’re doing this new Many Chapters thing, so what is there to feel sad about?”
It’s true… I’m the one who closed the door, and I’m sure many new doors will appear for me as I go forward, so there is a lot I’m happy about. But I think closing a door, even when WE are the ones closing it, represents the loss of something – – a dream, an opportunity, a road not traveled – – and for most of us (I think,) loss of any kind feels sad.
It’s ok to grieve any loss, even if it’s not a person.
I know the answer is to let the past go, with gratitude for all I learned, and stay in the present with gratitude for all I currently have and do. And I WILL do that. But letting go of the past is easier for some people than for others, and I tend to be one who holds on. So, I’m giving myself permission to grieve the closing of this particular door for a little while, and then I’ll let it go.
What about you?
Have you ever purposely closed a door on something that was important to you? I’d love to hear about your experience and how you got through it. Please share your comments below. And if you want, come post on the Many Chapters Facebook Page where we talk about this kind of stuff. ♥
Here are some great articles about grief I found helpful:
https://www.katherineschafler.com/blog/the-one-thing-no-one-ever-says-about-grieving
https://whatsyourgrief.com/loss-of-hopes-and-dreams/
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/at-a-loss-grieving-losses-other-than-death_b_59794d8ce4b06b305561ce05
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