THAT SHIP SAILED

Time flies… and not always in a good way. It slips through our fingers in a way that makes you question if the moments of your past were even real… or were they just fragments of dreams? You find yourself stuck in memories, revisiting times when you complained, unaware that those were some of the best days of your life… or were they? Can it get better than that? You grow up, and days that once felt like months and months like years now vanish in a snap. Time seems to move faster, maybe because we’re years beyond decades now. Still, even as time rushes forward, maybe… just maybe, the future can still be beautiful.

You remember being a free spirit, living in the moment, doing things simply because you could. Taking chances because you believed you had all the time in the world. But time has a way of revealing itself… of slowing down just enough to show you how far you've come and how much you've changed. You begin to realize your past now stretches longer than the future ahead. And with that realization, questions come rushing in — were those choices you made truly yours… or were you just following a path laid out by someone else?

You start questioning your entire being, like this life is borrowed… like we’re all just living on borrowed time. You become more cautious, more calculating. You take fewer risks because you’ve learned to value time in a way you didn’t before. You understand now that long life isn’t promised — it’s a gift, and not everyone receives it.

People begin to question your path… and maybe you feel judged. But deep down, the harshest judgment comes from within. You carry your doubts. The “what ifs” get louder — what if I had done things differently? And all you can do is imagine. Because time doesn’t wait, and you know you can’t afford another regret. You no longer have time for more “what ifs.” Everything becomes a now-or-never situation.

You don’t jump the way you used to. Not by faith. Not anymore. Because you’ve leapt before… and you know how that turned out. Now, you only move when you’re sure. Not out of fear, but because you’ve learned. Because experience teaches you what time never warned you about.

That ship sailed. And it’s not coming back.

You start to see the consequences of your choices. The life you could have had stands beside the one you do… and you feel the weight of that. But you also begin to understand something deeper. Letting go is hard, but it’s necessary. Making peace with your decisions is the only thing that gives you sanity. Acceptance becomes your anchor — not because you gave up, but because you chose to survive.

Because that’s all it was — a “what if.”

That ship sailed, and now it’s time to move forward. To stop staring at the water hoping for a return that will never come. It’s time to make new plans, chart new paths, and write new beginnings. To trust again… even if cautiously. To try again… even if differently.

The future waits. And maybe, just maybe, it can still be beautiful.