The End

The End

Right now we are in lockdown, along with most of the western world.  People are suddenly faced with a new lifestyle and we are responding to it, whilst being faced with many unanswerable questions and many of these questions will be about the end. The end outcome of coronavirus? the end out come of lockdown and social distancing? 

This week I have been thinking about the end.  It’s something that came to my mind, after I had been thinking about all those photos that appear on social media.  The end is often something that we focus on, many authors have started a book by writing the end outcome first.  The end of a journey, a journey that we should enjoy but all too often we are concerned with the details, will I make it to the airport. But it’s a sigh of relief, when we complete the journey. Or the achievement of many things, even if we enjoy the task, the end result is a definite, it bings satisfaction and our minds seem to relish the finished result.  The end of a walk, I love walking but it is so rewarding once it is completed, the accomplishment of exercise. And we can not forget that feeling we have at the end of every day.

And we love to display our end results, especially on social media, wether it be a kid holding a rainbow drawing, or some amazing creation, that has been built by dads and mums, like a cardboard fort.  

It was my kids craft project that sparked my idea to write about the end. Many times before coronavirus, let alone during lock down, my daughter has created something out of recyclable rubbish.  Now sometimes, she’s happy to make it all by herself and sometimes it really quite impresses me.  But there are these other times, when producing what she has in her mind, is ruined by her ability to create the end product. Her mind which sometimes, is more advanced than her practical or problem solving skills has a melt down.  Now the end result of these times, is often a beautiful picture (taken just long enough after all the anger and crying, that her face is no longer red), of her on social media, with the master piece in her hands and a big beaming smile on her face.  But what no one can see is all the trauma that came before the picture.  The rage as she hurls things across the room, making hideous noises of frustration and failure.  The ups and downs of the next hour, as I try to intervene.  I try to help her, encourage her and yet every attempt is a failing.  I tell her, you learn by failing, that is how amazing things are discovered, I keep positive and tell her to try again.  But all the outbursts are getting to me, all the noise and her deflation, it is irritating me and I have to control my own anger.  I start to help her, physically, I start to build, asking if this is ok, if this is how she wants it to be and suddenly the end is insight.  A feeling of relief is passing over me, I know that soon, she will have what she wants and this whole thing will be over and not a moment too soon.  And then at the very end, I will take a picture of her holding our creation, beaming and I will send it to family and post it on social media, this is what she made, with a little help from me.

So the end is a feeling that we all love and we like to know the end is coming and most of the time, we have a good idea of when that end will come.  Right now many of us cannot put a date on many ends and the ends are unpredictable, although we can focus on the smaller ends and of course the end of the day.