An End To Something Great
I can feel it. The quiet shift. The slow untying of a knot I didn’t know I was still holding.
This job has been one of the greatest chapters of my life. It sits at the top of my gratitude list every single time. I am grateful for the security it has given me. I am grateful for the structure, the routine, the chance to show up and be counted on. I am grateful for the ways it made me grow.
Here, I learned my voice. I learned how to stand in my power without shrinking. My personality found room to breathe. I laughed. I led. I learned how to hold my ground with grace. I learned how to work alongside grown people who were battling themselves. I learned to keep my center when folks were being weird or unprofessional. I learned to pick my peace and still get the work done.
This place shaped me. It sharpened me. It softened me where I needed softening. It gave me mirrors. It gave me wins. It gave me the kind of confidence that does not shout. The kind that sits quietly in the bone.
And yet. My soul does not feel aligned here anymore. The spark I had last year is not the spark I feel today. I keep checking in with myself to make sure I am not just tired. I keep asking if I am running from something. I keep telling the truth on paper. The same sentence keeps showing up. This chapter is closing.
There is a feeling you get when something is truly over. A relationship. A season. A habit. A home. It is not drama. It is not loud. It is the stillness after a long rain. You look around and realize the ground has already absorbed what it needed. You realize the roots have already taken what they could take. You realize staying longer would only make you heavy.
That is how this feels. Not angry. Not bitter. Just complete.
I want to honor what this job has been for me. A classroom. A proving ground. A mirror. A paycheck that kept the lights on and my body safe. A place where my gifts got practice. A place where my boundaries got stronger. A place where I learned I can be both firm and kind at the same time.
I also want to honor what my body is telling me now. The absence of excitement. The lack of tug. The way my spirit no longer reaches forward when I think about tomorrow in this role. I do not want to ignore that truth. I do not want to betray myself because comfort feels easier than courage.
Endings hold grief. Even good endings. I feel the sadness of it. I feel the ache of what I will miss. The familiar faces. The jokes that only make sense in this hallway. The rhythm of our days. The way I can do certain tasks with my eyes closed because I have learned them well. That is real. I am letting myself feel it. I am letting myself say thank you and goodbye at the same time.
Here is what I know. I do not have to demonize what I am leaving to bless where I am going. I can celebrate this chapter and still say it is time. I can be grateful and still move on. Gratitude does not mean I must hold on forever. It means I tell the truth about the gifts and then follow the next assignment with a steady heart.
So I am asking myself better questions. What lights me up right now. Where does my care want to be poured. What work makes me feel most alive. What rooms pull my voice forward with joy. What vision asks me to become more of myself rather than less.
I do not have all the answers yet. I have a few quiet yeses. I have the peace that comes with choosing alignment over attachment. I have the courage to trust God with the details. I have the practice of listening to my nervous system and honoring what it says.
Maybe this is what real growth looks like. Loving something and still knowing when to release it. Trusting that endings are not punishments. They are doorways. They are invitations to grow in real time. They are proof that you are paying attention to your life.
To this job. Thank you. You were good to me. You taught me how to be good to myself. You taught me how to speak up. You taught me how to hold steady when the room was spinning. You gave me language and practice and a softer spine. You gave me faith in my own capacity.
To the next chapter. I am open. I am willing. I am ready to work in spaces where my soul feels awake. I am ready to give my gifts in ways that match who I am becoming. I am ready to walk into rooms that meet me with respect, creativity, and care. I am ready to build work that honors my spirit and pays me well. I am ready for alignment.
If you are reading this and you feel a similar shift in your life, I want you to know you are not wrong. You are not ungrateful for feeling the change. You are growing. Sometimes the deepest thank you we can offer is to leave with honesty and leave with love.
I am closing this chapter with both.
Affirmation
I bless what was. I trust what is. I welcome what is next.
Reflection prompts
Where do I feel complete, even if I am afraid to say it out loud
What proof do I have that I can handle change
What small step can I take this week to honor my alignment
Becoming Herrss. Where wildflowers grow. 🌿