Doorways

Time flies. Very soon, I’ll be living in Germany.

I’ve spent the last several months purging, going through a lifetime of papers, art supplies, trinkets, and things put in closets years ago and long forgotten about. Taking multiple trips to the donation center. Giving away beloved items, thrilled that many of them will have a new home with family and friends. Shedding so many old things, and making room for the new.

I got my first tattoos with two humans I love dearly, mementos to remind me of the community that is here for me, forever.

I can’t help but think, often, of Jonny Sun‘s book Goodbye, Again, where he writes so beautifully about life and transitions and joy and heartbreak. One quote, about how many final goodbyes we have already said, sticks with me — though my copy is currently already at my new home and I can’t find the exact words. But he’s also written that “goodbyes are doorways, never doors,” and I’m holding on to that, too.

It’s been incredibly bittersweet.

By Ingrid Murray

Ingrid is an American self-taught mixed media artist and art journaler living and working in Germany. This website is human-generated.