When the End Is Near

“And now, the end is near,” croons Frank Sinatra. But how do we know when we’re getting to an ending—or to a point of no return?

Key concepts

Point of No Return: The threshold past which a process can no longer be reversed. Some are physical — a plane past its takeoff decision speed must fly — and some are purely human, like a sentence said in anger. A large part of growing up is learning to feel one coming before you cross it.

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Every work — at a glance

My Way — Paul Anka / Frank Sinatra (song)

A slow, swelling ballad sung as a deathbed summing-up: the singer faces 'the final curtain', concedes 'regrets, I've had a few — but then again, too few to mention', and lands on 'I did it my way'.

What to know

01
How do we know when we're getting to an ending? Usually we don't, so we reach instead for a signal we can recognise — a final curtain, a last day, a countdown — and treat it as the ending. "And now, the end is near" is that move performed out loud: the song announces an ending in order to be able to respond to one.

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Across subjects

Aviation makes the threshold literal. Every takeoff has a speed called V1, set before the plane moves. Below V1 a pilot who loses an engine can brake and stop.

Theme connection

"Are We There Yet?"

The question usually points forward, toward what you want. Here it faces the last destination. Does sensing the end let you meet it on your own terms, with dignity and a story you chose — or does it rob the present of spontaneity, turning what time is left into a countdown you narrate instead of live?

Practice — a sample

SPCFour of these describe sensing an ending; which does NOT?

A Point of no return
B Anticipatory nostalgia
C Social loafing
D Life review
E Closure

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