Headspace Studios. Hi, it's Dora here, and welcome to Radio Headspace. I was at the

hair salon a few weeks ago, sitting in the chair when my phone buzzed.

It was a text from a friend. She was going through a breakup and needed to talk. So there I was,

listening to her, pour her heart out about the ending of a relationship that had meant everything

to her.

She was deeply hurt, confused, asking me questions I'm not sure anyone can fully answer.

How do I navigate this?

How do I move through this pain?

In that moment, I told her what felt true.

Focus on caring for yourself. Be gentle. Give yourself time.

But afterwards, as I sat there in the salon chair, I was left reflecting, not just on her

breakup, but on endings in general. And how much of our suffering around endings comes from thinking that they're

personal. Like the universe singled us out for this pain. Like we did something wrong to deserve this loss.

But endings aren't always personal. They're universal. They happen to everyone. And when we forget that, when we take endings personally,

we add a second layer of hurt to something that's already hard enough.

Endings are inescapable. When we resist this fundamental truth, as certain traditions teach us,

when we cling to what's changing or take the ending as proof of our inadequacy, we create more

stress for ourselves. But mindfulness teaches us something different. It teaches us how to be with these endings,

to recognize them as part of the natural rhythm of life. A few years ago, I remember being on a

silent meditation retreat, and by day three or four, I hit a wall. I felt tired, lethargic. My body felt heavy,

and my mind was foggy. I couldn't focus and I couldn't settle. I just felt stuck.

During one of the check-ins with the teacher, I told them what I was experiencing. And they said

...