Left Behind

I don’t think anyone will argue with me that being the one who is leaving is always better than being the one who is left behind. This is a realization that rang true for me especially as a child hiding in the circular clothes rack of JC Penny’s. At first you think you’re just taking a nap among some polyester suits while your mother tries on nineteen different pairs of pants, but then you realize that you have been left behind.

You cry.

You don’t know if the person leaving will ever come back for you. Sometimes they don’t. Actually, a lot of times they don’t. Your mother is probably the one person who is most reliable in coming back for you, but there are many people who have had experiences where this is not the case. Sometimes, even mothers don’t come back.

You can’t count on anything.

It is always better to be the one leaving, because that means you are going somewhere. If you are the one being left, most of the time you are just looking around for people who have been left there with you. The unfortunate part of being left is this: if you later decide you also want to leave, you are not actually leaving. You are now chasing. And there’s nothing worse than chasing after something that doesn’t want you.

You know this. I know you already know this. Everybody knows this. It’s the reason females go to the bathroom in herds. No one wants to be left.

The thing is, when you are left behind you really have three choices: you can chase, you can sit right where you are, or you can change your direction and take a new path. Maybe you are concerned that if you start to go someplace else, the one you want to come back for you won’t be able to find you. Leave some bread crumbs. Or like, a missed connections ad on Craigslist.

This is your time.

You may be the one left behind, but you can also be the one who finds something beautiful. But you must start looking for it.

Maybe I should take my own advice.