It's been a good ride
Isn’t that all that matters, after all is said and done?
Whenever anything ends – a day trip, a relationship, even our own life – there’s no going back. It’s in the past forever, and we can never change it.
Even if it were something we could do again, it would still be a new and different experience. You can’t step in the same river twice: the water is going to be different, and you are going to be different as well. Heraclitus, you know.
So, what does remain in the present?
We’re left with our feelings, our emotions, our sensations, our experience of being alive here and now. But since we have memories, our past experience still lingers on and echoes into the present moment.
When I look back, it’s not easy to be detached from past emotions and remain grounded in the present. So many things can arise, and sometimes they’re not pleasant: remorse, regrets, absence, void, sadness, loss, meaninglessness.
But all the emotions that pop up are not related to my present and can never change it. The water has flown, it’s a different river now!
One very simple thing I found out very early in life is that I’d rather be happy than sad, if I can help it. So why not focus on gratitude?
I want to feel blessed and thankful for being richer with a new experience, rather than miserable for no longer having it. And that’s largely my choice.
That’s why, as things change, I love to be able to say: it’s been a good ride.