When Goodbyes Become Initiations

Yesterday, I had a warm yet achingly sad gathering with my dearest friends, the kind of friends who have become my chosen family. Our meeting was filled with laughter, memories, and quiet tears. It was our time to say goodbye, as they prepared to move far away...across continents, across oceans.

The Weight of Goodbye

On my way home, my breathing grew heavy.

I had known for months that my friends would soon leave, yet nothing prepares the heart for the moment when “someday” becomes “now.” There is that last hug, perhaps not forever, but certainly for now.

We live in a world of constant connection, video calls, messages, social media...yet none of these can replace the warmth of a hand, the comfort of a familiar laugh beside you.

As I walked home, I strated to cry. The streets blurred, and I carried within me both the ache of parting and the quiet gratitude for all the beautiful moments we had shared.

Conversations on Change

Today, I met with a wise teacher, someone who has supported me through many seasons of my life. I shared with him my recent challenges: how this year feels like a long and profound initiation — full of endings, transitions, and transformations.

Work has shifted dramatically. The university that once felt like home dissolved. People I have known for years have moved away. It feels, at times, like life itself has torn apart old structures, leaving me standing at the edge of something new, raw, and unknown.

I confessed to feeling anger, even anger toward the universe, for taking dear people away, for dismantling what was once steady.

And yet, my teacher smiled softly and said: “This is initiation.”

Later, I returned to an old podcast I once loved, and I came across these words: “Originating from the Latin initium, initiation represents the beginnings we all experience, drawing us out of primal states and urging us toward higher levels of understanding and consciousness. These are not just personal journeys but universal passages — marked by the archetypes and emotions we all share.” (This Jungian Life, 2023)

It struck me deeply.
Every ending is a beginning in disguise.
Every loss holds within it the seed of renewal.

Initiation does not only happen in sacred ceremonies, it happens in the moments when life breaks open: when we say goodbye, when we grieve, when we must let go of the familiar to step into the unknown.

Sitting with the Pain

Initiation is not a quick process. It asks us to stay present, to sit with pain until it softens, to breathe through discomfort until it dissolves.

It invites us to trust the wisdom of transition, to honor our sadness and anger as sacred messengers.

Sometimes, healing looks like silence. Sometimes, it looks like tears. And sometimes, it looks like standing alone in the dark, whispering softly to ourselves:
“I am still here.”

As I write these words, I feel both sorrow and peace. My friends are beginning a new chapter across the sea, and I, too, am being called into my own initiation.

Change, it seems, is the great teacher. It asks us to release what was, to honor what is, and to trust what will come.

Because even as oceans separate us, the bond of true friendship remains, timeless, invisible, and infinite.

And so I breathe — deeply, fully, courageously.

Reference:

This Jungian Life. (2023) INITIATIONS: universal processes that spark transformation. Available at: https://thisjungianlife.com/initiations/ (Accessed: 29 October 2025).