The healing effect of saying goodbye

I guess I am not good and not used to saying goodbye...

I hate it when I have to say goodbye formally making it as if we are not going to meet each other forever...

When I was younger, we used to have farewell parties for friends furthering their studies abroad, when people leave a work place and or leave to work somewhere else and etc...

I never felt good when I'm saying goodbye in farewell parties...

However, I experienced something different this time round.

I went to the gym as usual the other day and this high school friend goes to the same gym and we often say hi when we meet in the gym...

Otherwise, we don't really keep it touch or meet outside of the gym..

Yet, the feeling of seeing someone familiar when I go to the gym does bring a certain degree of comfort to me...

At least I don't feel that I'm all alone...

I am a slow to warm up person, so despite I have been going to the same gym for more than a year now, I didn't make any friends.

Back to what I want to share, my friend approached me after the class and told me that she's leaving the coming Friday to New York for two years because of her work. 

As much as I was surprised since it was a sudden news, I felt "good" after hearing it despite it was a goodbye. 

I felt good because she took the time to tell me that she's leaving Malaysia and will be in NYC for two years. She didn't have to tell me really, but I really appreciate her taking the effort to tell me a simple goodbye. 

We didn't even have time to have dinner before she left!

But I guess that's the beauty of saying goodbye and it reminds me of how nice if all of us get to say a short, simple, and sweet goodbye to the people we love before we leave this world so that people who are left "behind" in this world get to heal from the lost. 

Sadly, the truth is we rarely get to saying this simple goodbye in a calm way. Rather, a lot of us left this world unexpectedly or denying that we are leaving while the people who are left behind are left with nothing but reminiscent of the happy times as well as sad moments. 

Finally, I hope that all is well for her in New York and I did propose to my friend that let's visit NYC then. I have never really planned on going to NYC for a trip, so does my friend. 

Throughout my life, I have always knew that I will visit Europe one day. But life seems to disagree with it and would like me to visit NYC before Europe and I have decided to just go with the flow and grab whatever travel opportunity that arise.