07/08/2025
I used to think moving on was about forgetting. For years, I held onto the ghost of a future I had planned down to the last detail. It was a life I had built in my head, a version of myself I was convinced was the only one worth being. When it all fell apart, I didn’t just lose the dream; I felt like I had lost myself. I spent so much time replaying the highlight reels, analyzing the missteps, and trying to bargain with a past that had already closed its books. I thought if I just held on tighter, I could somehow keep it from fading away. But holding on wasn't preserving it; it was poisoning the present. It was like trying to breathe life into a statue while I was slowly turning to stone myself.
The real shift didn’t happen with a grand gesture. It happened quietly. It was the realization that moving on isn’t an act of erasure, but an act of integration. It’s not about pretending the pain or the love or the dream never existed. It’s about accepting that it did, and that it shaped you, but that it is no longer your destination. It’s carrying the lessons learned, the strength gained, and the love you gave, and deciding that you are more important than what you’ve lost. It’s about packing the wisdom, not the wreckage.
Your past is a part of your story, but it doesn’t get to write the ending. The strength you’ve shown just by surviving the shipwreck is incredible. But you were not made to live on that deserted island forever. You were made to navigate open seas, to discover new shores. You are allowed to let go of the anchor that is drowning you, even if you once called it treasure. You are allowed to build a new ship, right here, with the timber of experience and the sails of hope.
So I’ll ask you this, not to rush you, but to gently nudge the dreamer inside you: What is one thing, just one small thing, you can do this week to start building your new ship?