The other day, I caught myself thinking a thought that won’t leave me alone:
What have I lost over the years, chasing things that no longer matter?

Faces, moments, dreams crossed my mind… all lived intensely, with the hope that “there” I would find happiness. You know those moments when you feel that if you just get that one thing, everything will make sense? That’s how I kept running… chasing well-made plans, the approval of others, achievements that mean nothing to me now.

Time… oh, time is a deceitful thief. It doesn’t take everything from you in one day, but slowly slips away—moment by moment, dream by dream, piece by piece. And the worst part is, you realize how much you’ve lost only when there’s no way to get it back.

But wait…
Maybe it’s not about recovering.
Maybe the lesson is something else: learning to protect what I still have.

To stop letting the simple days pass me by, the quiet moments, the honest hugs. To stop letting the present slip through my fingers while chasing an uncertain future.

Life… always has other plans for me. And maybe it’s not always kind to my choices, but sometimes it takes me exactly where I needed to be—even if it’s down a path I would’ve never chosen willingly.

Today, I don’t want to run anymore.
I want to look around, to feel, to be.
To hold on to what truly matters.
And if life comes with its own plans… may I have the wisdom to welcome them—
not as obstacles,
but as a new direction.