Don't You Dare

Starting again shouldn’t be as hard as it is. In fact, it isn’t nearly as hard as we think it is.

Pretty soon, the person before, the one that started everything only to end it anyway and necessitate the act of starting again, is soon gone from your memory. Obviously, things like Facebook make it difficult to start over. Constant status updates or their name on your chat or a stray comment here and there definitely make forgetting that much harder.

But starting over must first begin with an end. So detaching yourself is of tantamount importance. There’s really no going back, so that means there is no reason to not move forward.

And in moving forward, you begin to forget. Soon you forget the sound of their voice. The exact timbre and tone fades, then the lilt of a question, even the way they said your name… Though that is the hardest to forget, it does fade with time.

Then goes the exact color of their eyes. That look they gave you, the one that made you melt inside and wonder just what it was you were getting yourself into, that fades with the shade of green or blue or brown that made their eyes special.

And then you think about it a bit, and you can’t remember the shape of their face, or the angle of their cheekbones, or how the separate elements of their face fit together to make the face that is uniquely their face, the face that made silly expressions or sarcastic looks or sly smiles that made you wonder just what they were thinking.

And just like that, they’re gone. No longer can that face torment you in your thoughts, as you think and ponder and agonize about some nonsense that you can’t change… and probably wouldn’t change, even if you could.

Suddenly, moving on just isn’t that hard. Because maybe you realized that no amount of regret will change the past. Or maybe you came to the conclusion that they weren’t worth the effort of your agonizing. Or maybe somebody else came along.

Maybe somebody came along who was different than the one before. Taller or shorter, smarter or simpler, more relaxed or more athletic, maybe kinder and more sincere. Maybe closer to that which you actually needed, despite what you may have thought before.

And then there are possibilities again.

But don’t you dare hold back. Don’t you dare make reservations, just because of the person who came before. They’re not worth it, and this new person doesn’t deserve to get just part of you because you’re scared.

Don’t be afraid to let go and tumble into the unknown once again.

Life is about taking chances and making choices that don’t always have clear outcomes.

Take a step forward, and another. And whatever you do, don’t ever look back.

-Lucifer