The Beauty of Letting Go

"Nothing lasts forever" - perhaps one of the most painful truths that anyone with a heart can bear to hear. And yet, it is this concept of mortality - whether it's saying goodbye to a favourite pet or a great love that you once thought would last till the end of time - that reminds us that beauty exists even in tragedy. Beauty? How so? Through new beginnings.

While watching Toy Story 3 earlier, one particular scene (shown above) caught me off guard and reduced me to a sobbing pile of emotions. The Pixar film that enchanted audiences in 1995 came to an end two years ago and gave us one of the most bittersweet endings in animation history. It wasn't a fairytale ending; it was quite painful and real. It tugged at our heartstrings and made waterfalls out of our eyes. But in the end, it was necessary.

When Andy painfully bids his toys a final goodbye, a barely audible "Thanks guys" signals the end of a beautiful relationship and the beginning of something else. Maturity, perhaps? We'll never really know.

As the credits rolled alongside a funny montage of the toys being their usual farcical selves, it made me realize that no matter how heartbreaking or difficult it might seem, there will come a time when we need to let go of those whom we most love.