The Lives We Don't End Up Living

Sometimes my mind wanders and begins to think about all the versions of ourselves that never happen. The jobs we almost took, the homes we almost moved into, the friendships that nearly became something more, the trips we never booked, the plans that quietly changed.

Every now and then, I wonder about those alternate timelines we almost walked. The people we might have been had we turned left instead of right. I think it’s more curiosity than regret, although you could confuse the two for each other.

Every version of ourselves — even the ones that never existed — helps shape the person we have become. In this current moment, every decision has lead us to who we are.

There are dreams that don't come true, and chapters that end sooner than expected. There are futures we imagine so clearly we can almost touch them.

And then life writes something different… not necessarily better or worse, but different.

I've learned that we carry these unlived lives with us. And it’s those unlived lives that become teachers. We make peace with them, and we grieve them from time to time. We thank them for what they taught us, and then we keep walking toward the journey that is actually unfolding in front of us.