You know how things are with old classmates, or former Friends
At one time you were close, forced together in a daily routine that kept your orbits circling round each other. You knew what their favorite kind of music was. If they changed up their routine with a new haircut or their looks, you knew the moment it happened. They didn't need to notify you of the small changes, never mind the major ones, because you were always there, sharing the experience with them, watching from the sidelines.
But things changed. You graduated, got a new job, moved on, and your relationship had to change. You swore you'd stay in touch. You'd call. You'd write. And you did... for a while. Then it took a few weeks longer to return that email or phone call. Next time, a few months. "We'll get together in the spring," you promised, until summer passed without a single contact. You got busy. You got distracted by your own joys, your own sorrows, and forgot to reach out. Seasons went by. Years. You drifted apart.
From time to time, you think of them, and want to reach out. But now, there is a gulf between you. Not only time, but life has passed. So many things have happened in the months and years since you last spoke. You're overwhelmed by how much you'd have to explain. Is it worth that amount of effort, to rekindle a once comfortable relationship? Where would you begin?
Yes, things are fine. There are no major catastrophes or "miracles" to share. Just little things.
And then you think - Maybe it isn't worth it at all. Maybe we don't have anything in common anymore. Maybe I'm not the same person I was when I knew them anyway. Maybe it's time to just let the relationship go, to accept that it's over.Maybe priorities change.
Except... maybe, staying up until 11:30 and rambling for a few dozen paragraphs probably wasn't the best decision.
But other than that. Definitely, no regrets.
Priorities Change-I knew it was inevitable
Great Men Great Thoughts
Bertrand Russell:
Three passions have governed my life:
The longings for love, the search for knowledge,
And unbearable pity for the suffering of [humankind].
Love brings ecstasy and relieves loneliness.
In the union of love I have seen In a mystic miniature the prefiguring vision
Of the heavens that saints and poets have imagined.
With equal passion I have sought knowledge.
I have wished to understand the hearts of [people].
I have wished to know why the stars shine.
Love and knowledge led upwards to the heavens,
But always pity brought me back to earth;
Cries of pain reverberated in my heart Of children in famine,
of victims tortured And of old people left helpless.
I long to alleviate the evil, but I cannot, And I too suffer.
This has been my life; I found it worth living.
adapted
