“The reason it is hard to end things well is simple: endings inspire overpowering emotions.” - Robert Greene, 33 Strategies of War
At the end of a concert after the big crescendo and the final hit the theater will go to black. The theater will go dark just for a moment and then the lights come back up. In that space is the overpower response to musician’s art.
During a sales presentation the consultant often pauses before they deliver their call to action. They share the struggles of other clients, how hard it is to do business, and how they hear so many people asking for a solution - and then they pause. They say, “and that’s why we made this…”
Books have chapters, cartoons have “that’s all folks,” letters have “Sincerely,” and our lives have death.
What I struggle to understand is this: If the end of things brings forth overpowering emotion, why would we deny ourselves that experience? Wouldn’t we look forward to the end?
Perhaps we don’t fear the end. Perhaps we might regret that we didn’t take full enough advantage of the present. There’s no refund policy on time spent.
Make the most of the present, and look forward to the overpowering rapture of the end.
Fine.