The Importance of Goodbye

I think we can all agree that goodbyes are the worst. No matter how small, or big, saying goodbye to a favorite person, place, pet or even pastime can quite literally break our hearts and leave us aching for years to come.

But the only thing worse, is not getting the chance to say goodbye.  A sudden end.  I've been contemplating this on a number of fronts lately and it has me thinking about the value of goodbye.  Just skimming the surface here, but a few of my thoughts:

Goodbye shows you who a person really is.
With nothing left to gain, and little to nothing left to lose - how a person chooses to treat another when saying goodbye speaks of nothing but who they really are - loving, kind, patient, or not.

Goodbye shows you who a person really is to you. 
Relief or sadness, perhaps fear or insecurity - when we cut ties, our emotional response tells us a lot about what we looked to that person (or thing) for, and who they became to us.  Sometimes it surprises us what surfaces.

Goodbye shows you who you are. 
It's not a summary of your being - but you're bound to learn a few new things whenever you say goodbye - you'll learn about fight or flight, about your perspective of yourself, and about what you really want.