Left Behind

I feel like I've been left behind.  Standing at the train station, baggage in hand, waiting to board that fabled Midnight Train to anywhere, to continue my journey as best I can. 

But, when the conductor reaches me, he refuses my ticket, and my pleas fall on deaf ears.  There I am, train whistle ringing in my ears, gusts of wind from the wheels taking hold and tousling my hair. 

I watch the smoke fall in tendrils behind the caboose as I stand, bewildered, on the platform, bidding goodbye to everything I know.  Once the shock is gone, I pivot, and begin to make a future here, in the vast unknown. Then Jealousy rears her ugly head, and I struggle to make my home on solid ground.

She is relentless.  Constantly reminding me of what I don't have.  And I find the only way to silence her is to dig deeper, work harder, love more, laugh candidly, and appreciate what I do have. 

Then, one day, I hear that deep whistle blow, and I know that train is coming.  As I approach the platform, I know what I must do, what I need to do, what I want to do. 

I stand tall, smile, and wave...genuinely happy for everyone I know on that train I can never board. 

In doing so, I realize we all have different paths to follow, and now I am free.