Moving Forward - Poem

In an effort to discover who we are meant to be
We must all travel many paths
Some long, and some short
People join and tag along
While others only follow momentarily
In this changing world it is difficult to know where the paths will take us
And yet we are compelled to follow each as far as it will go
Through pain and suffering
Hurt and hardship
We continue
Hoping for better days
Where living is effortless
Life isn't about winning the race though
It's about meeting people, making friends
Living, and loving, and losing
Sadly nothing in this life is permanent
And the people who believe it is are just deluding themselves
We must make the best of what and who we have in our lives
And never take these things for granted
Our friends and enemies make us the people we are today
And without them we would have nothing
We need their encouragement and discouragement
Help and hindrance, love and hatred
To continue along these paths
We cannot move forward without both wins and losses
These things make us stronger, more resistant
If life was easy it wouldn't be worth living
The challenges make it interesting, they make us try
They make us fight for the things we love in order to keep them
But some of those those things will never last
They fade into the darkness all too quickly
Into the depths of memory to be treasured or forgotten
Lost behind us on the path to be found by others
Hoping they will be treasured as we once treasured them
Memories change, feelings fade, and we are forced to let go of things we once held dear
We can't let these things hold us back
Because if we never move forward we will never be happy
And happiness is the goal of all
If you are happy with where you are in life, enjoy it
It may last, or it may not
Just keep traveling, and living, and learning, and loving until the end

© Chloe VanDuinen 2009

A poem for my two best friends when they broke up with each other.It is also written for everyone else who has ever gone through a bad breakup where they thought they couldn't live without the other person. Sometimes you just have to move on and let them live their lives. You can only hope that someone else will love them as you did and that they are doing well for themselves.