What's Meant for You Will Not Pass You By

                                          

Have you ever watched someone you love walk away? Or felt the quiet ache of a friendship slowly drifting apart? In our hyper-connected world of seven billion souls, why do we sometimes feel so alone? Perhaps, it is time to explore an age-old wisdom that has comforted hearts through generations: "What's meant for you, will not pass you by". 

Remember that scene from "500 Days of Summer" where Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) finally understands why things didn't work out with Summer (Zooey Deschanel)? "I was sitting in a deli and reading Dorian Gray and a person walks in and sits down next to me. And I realized it wasn't Summer... it was Autumn. And I felt relief." Sometimes, the wrong person has to leave to make room for the right one. 

A close friend shared her story over coffee one day: "I spent six years in a relationship that felt like forcing a puzzle piece to fit. When it ended, I was devastated. Two years later, I met my current husband at a cooking class I would never have taken if I was still in my previous relationship. We connected over burnt pasta and bad jokes. With him, nothing feels forced. Everything just... fits." 

Think of friendships like stars in the night sky. Some are shooting stars - brilliant but brief. Others are constant constellations, guiding you home no matter where you wander. The beauty lies in understanding that not every friendship is meant to last forever, and that's okay. 

As Maya Angelou wisely wrote: "People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." Some friends are meant to be chapter-long characters in your story, while others are meant to be there until the final page. 

In our social media age, we're constantly bombarded with images of perfect relationships and #SquadGoals. It's easy to feel like we're missing out or that life is passing us by. But here's a secret: authentic connections don't follow a timeline or template. Some people find their soulmate at 20, others at 50; some have a tight-knit group of friends, others have meaningful one-on-one friendships; some maintain childhood friendships, and others build their chosen family later in life. 

The Art of Letting Go 

Remember the iconic scene from "Casablanca" where Rick tells Ilsa, "We'll always have Paris"? Sometimes, loving someone means letting them go. This applies not just to romantic relationships but to friendships too. 

A colleague I used to work with, once told me: "My best friend moved across the country fifteen years ago. We promised to stay in touch daily, but life happened. Now we talk maybe twice a year, but when we do, it's like no time has passed. I've learned that true friendship isn't measured in minutes of conversation but in moments of connection." 

The Bridge of Second Chances 

Life has a funny way of bringing people back when the timing is right. Like the lyrics from The Civil Wars' Poison and Wine: "I don't love you, but I always will." Sometimes, relationships need time and space to evolve, heal, or transform. 

Take Atlas and Lily's story from It Ends with Us. Once upon a time sweethearts, who broke up over getting caught in their secret relationship, lived separate lives for many years, and then reconnected at Atlas' restaurant. I guess even the characters would say that they needed those years apart because they had to become the right people for each other. 

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Think of your relationships like a garden: some plants bloom naturally, others need constant tending. A few might wither despite your best efforts; sometimes, the most beautiful flowers grow wild and unexpected. 

Instead of anxiously searching for "the one" or the perfect friend group, try cultivating self-love and understanding, staying open to unexpected connections, nurturing existing relationships without suffocating them, and trusting that meaningful connections will find you when you are ready. 

Sometimes, we are so busy looking for love in a certain package that we miss it arriving in another form. Like the song "The Call" by Regina Spektor suggests: "Love, you didn't do nothing at all...you just stood there watching me fall, and then some angel lifted me up."

In our modern world, connection can come in unexpected ways. I found my best friend through the shared horrors of adolescent ninth-graders. My friend met his partner and the love of his life through a random Bumble match. The universe has infinite ways of bringing the right people into your life, exactly at the right time. 

As you meander through the complex web of human connections, it becomes important to remember that what's meant for you will find its way. Like ships in the vast ocean that always return to the harbor. The right people will too dock in your harbor at the perfect moment. Your task isn't to chase every passing sail but to keep your lighthouse burning. 

When a relationship ends or a friendship fades, it's not always failure - sometimes it's just completion. Trust that new connections are already making their way to you, carried on the winds of perfect timing. 

After all, in a world of seven billion souls, the ones meant for you will find their way to your heart. Keep it open, keep it kind, and trust in the beautiful mystery of divine timing.