Recognizing what you have

If you could go back to each and every person that has
ever been a friend or an influence in your life, what
would you tell them?

Is there something you see now that you didn't when
they were a staple in your life? Is there something you
see about how you were with them that maybe looks
differently now?

Did you take them for granted or
take advantage of them?

Did you bypass the love they were offering,
caught up in your own world and pleasures?

Did you lose sight of what was important?

Do you see how amazing they were now
that they're no longer in your life?

Of course there may be some where there would
be feelings that were the opposite of the above.
You might see how...

Someone took you for granted, or
took advantage of you.

Someone felt themselves and their interests
and desires more important than you and yours.

They lost sight of what was important.

You can see while they may have seemed so
great at the time, they weren't as great as
you thought.

I ask these questions because it seems lately
that a few people in my life (out of no where)
are looking to make amends with me. In a way
it is nice to be "right" about how I felt about them
and the situation - in the sense that they're now
coming back apologizing, and wanting to make
things right between us.

I don't know where things will go (or if they will)
but I find it interesting that the only thing that
seemed to have been able to give these people
that perspective was time and whatever experiences
they must have had during that time. There was
nothing I could do back then that would have had
them see what value they were about to lose.

The value came only when I was "lost."

Do we really have to lose things to find their value?
Experiences like this seem to say "yes," but I can't
help but wonder if there might be another way.

Some things can never be recovered. Sometimes
there is no tomorrow to make things right.
Sometimes people never get to know they were
"right," and get peace from another's reflection.

So...what might you have to say to someone?
Might it be worth saying? I can tell you from
my experience, if it is positive for the recipient,
it could be an incredible gift for both of you.

Expression is a gift. We just use it so much for
things like "take out the trash," we forget how
valuable it can be for the things and people
that truly matter.