Closure versus Transcendence

I caught part of an interview on NPR the other day. The discussants were commenting on the word ‘closure.’ It was suggested that a better word is transcend. One of speakers felt that a person never really experiences closure after a tragic occurrence but rather learns to transcend the event and move on with life.

There was a certain synchronicity for me with this thought. Closure suggests finality, being done with something. And, I agree that closure as so defined is indeed difficult to attain.

For myself, I can think of 9/11 as an example. Having grown up near the World Trade Center site with parents heavily involved in the financial district of Manhattan, the destruction of the WTC on 9/11 affected me deeply. As I look at my own healing process over the years since then, closure is not a word that readily pops into my mind. But transcendence does work for me. The pain of the tragedy is as real to me today as it was on the day it happened. But, my ability to breathe through my pain and use the energy of my pain to move forward in my own life to achieve positive results has become easier over the years. I look upon this as transcendence.

The art of aikido calls for a positive mind. I am in many ways the eternal optimist. I look for the good in everything, choosing to see the cup as half full rather than half empty. Transcending tragedy resonates in the same way with me as seeking the positive. It asks us to embrace our sorrows but to step forward on a path towards our deepest visions.

Judy Warner