Loose ends: I’m sure you will have a murmur of recognition if you have ever tried unravelling a knotted ball of wool, or the Christmas lights that have been packed away all year.  Trying to find the loose ends is a painstaking task at the best of times.

Finding the loose end to start that unravelling process can be difficult.  It can be difficult knowing which loose end to hold onto.

And of course, there are always loose ends at the end of a process or event as well.  It can be difficult letting go of some loose ends.

As I write this in the middle of a national and global lockdown through the covid-19 virus, it’s difficult and painful to know what strands to hold onto and equally painful letting go of others.

And ultimately, whatever we hold onto or let go of, we don’t know the outcome.  We don’t know when or how things will even start getting back to normal or a new normal in our lives.

In a difficult process with a client, it may be that they don’t achieve the ending they want.  And that’s something we certainly have to let go of as a therapist.

At the end of a therapeutic process, it can be difficult at times to “let go” a client and their issue, the loose ends may be many, and we have to find a way of living with that.

So we live with uncertainty through the whole process.  By the time you are reading this, we may have found some of those loose ends and worked our way through some of the knots.

More than anything within the process, we need to find what is most important.

Right now, this may be friends, family, neighbours, support networks etc.  Our own inner support systems are important as well.

Whether it’s a ball of wool, the Christmas lights or the present global virus, we need to find the right loose ends to hold onto.

That’s a lot of hard work and understanding.  It takes patience.  And kindness to others and ourselves.  It takes focus, and determination.

And whatever the loose ends we have to deal with right now, the one thing we hold onto above all else....

Is HOPE.

I hope you will find the loose ends that are important to you.

Hold on tight to them.

Take Care and Stay Safe.