In this life, there will always be the one that got away. There will always be that person who leaves and indelible impression on your soul: who changes you in some small way.  You may not meet them until very late in life. You may meet them early on. The point is that you will meet them and they will shift your thinking. I had that person in my life.  He was someone who challenged me. He forced me out of my comfort zone and made me really think about who I am and what I want. The sad part was that I wasn’t able to appreciate him while I had him. The general pattern for we fickle humans is just that—we don’t see what we have until it has left us behind.  I’m sure that he will be headed to the altar sometime soon and my heart can’t help but think what if. What if we had worked things out? What if we not only worked but lasted? What if I have exaggerated this relationship far beyond what it truly was? I could kill myself with questions that will never be answered but I don’t think that is the point of “the one that got away”.  There is a much greater lesson in the loss.

Today’s Task: Have no regrets. We are meant to make mistakes so that we can learn from them.  I think that the ones that get away are the great lessons before the ones that get to stay. If we don’t lose anything, how will we know to treasure what we have? If I hadn’t fallen for this guy when I did (at the worst possible time) there are some things that I never would have learned.  I never would have known that deep level of remorse that has taught me to appreciate the ones that I love.  I never want to take for granted the people that I love in any of my relationships.  I never would have known how much that means to me if he never got away. The ones that get away are our great teachers. They aren’t placed in our lives to insight regret but to aid in growth. I am grateful for the values that lesson taught me.