Tuesday's Mental Musings On A Friday

In the end it is what it is.

Despite being taught this as a child I often still consider what was from every angle possible in my attempt to understand what it was, what it is and sometimes, especially if I am not ready to let go, what it could have been, but in the end it is never anything more than what it is.

“In the end it is what it is” is a simple phrase that encourages us to understand that there is no more possibility left and that it is time to move on and allow other things to become what they can be. It is often we that cannot accept the finality of those 8 words, even when we have initiated the change that brought them about. Even when it is we that have requested an end we can feel put off because we are no longer in control or the result doesn't bring the control we anticipated. We want to say when things are over, often with the catch that we can rescind that directive when it no longer serves our purpose. We want to say when things no longer matter, often at the cost of romanticizing those things into importance when it serves a purpose to do so. We want to determine when there is not enough return in something to invest further, but still leave the room for the possibility of it becoming more than what it was meant to be. Unfortunately in order to move forward we have to let go of our need to control the destiny of something that may no longer be ours and whether that lack of control is caused by other parties involved or circumstances beyond the control of anyone, accept that in the end it is what it is, nothing more, and nothing less.

The biggest lesson in finding comfort or strength in those words isn’t about learning the nuance of the phase but about understanding the level of simplicity they reflect is so complex that we can only accept them as truth or else get lost in trying to control what is no more.

In the end it is what it is.