Hello, this is Ditto.

Every flower that blooms will eventually fade, and every connection that draws near is bound to one day drift apart. In Buddhism, this principle is called Hoejajeongni—those who meet must inevitably part. Faced with this natural truth that a meeting guarantees a parting, we often find ourselves clumsy and in pain.

The French philosopher Michel de Montaigne advises in his Essays:
"We must practice leaving throughout every process of our lives. When we learn to let go without attachment, we learn how to truly love."

Parting is never a failure. It is simply the natural journey of a connection, having shared a season of our lives, now finding its own way. Rather than desperately clinging to someone's sleeve when a relationship has run its course, it means bidding a serene farewell, grateful for the warmth of the time shared. That is perhaps the most beautiful courtesy we can offer to that person, and to the time we spent together.

A person whose departure is serene leaves a fragrant trace where they stayed.
Do we know how to gracefully let passing connections go, just as well as we know how to welcome someone new?

Today's Poem

Falling Flowers / Lee Hyung-gi

How beautiful is the retreating figure
Of one who leaves knowing clearly
When it is time to go.

My love, having endured
The fierce passions of spring,
Is now falling.

Scattering petals...
Enveloped in the blessing of farewell,
Now is the time to depart,

Toward the lush greenery,
And the autumn that will
Soon bear fruit,
My youth dies beautifully like a flower.

Across the open palms that let go of what must not be held, a new breeze begins to blow.
In the space left behind by a departed connection, I hope quiet gratitude remains instead of resentment.
I cheer on your courage to let go beautifully.

This was Ditto.