The Missed Train

One of the hardest things in life is accepting that you can meet the right person at the wrong time and there’s nothing you can do about it. In your mind, you can replay the moment, the conversation, the connection, and imagine how things could have been different if the timing was right. But in reality, you just have to let it go. Listen this track let her go by Passenger, it captures the feeling of missed connections beautifully.

It’s not always a romantic thing. I know what your mind is up to. It can be a mentor who shows up when you’re not ready to listen. A friend you connect with deeply but lose to distance or circumstance. A VC whom you wish you could pitch to at the right time for your idea. A stranger on a flight who says exactly what you needed to hear, and then disappears. You feel the weight of what could have been, but the window closes before you can step through it.

The feeling of standing at the station and watching the train leave. You weren’t late. The train just wasn’t yours at the right time, which was meant to be. It’s like having a favorite bike at 70, which you no longer have the courage to ride and enjoy.

The same thing happens with opportunities. A path you were genuinely passionate about, but the timing was off , too young, too broke, too deep into something else. You just had to let it go. And letting go of the right thing at the wrong time is its own quiet loss. You just let it go…

Some people, some chances, some versions of your life, and they exist only in the window they arrive in. Miss the window, and they’re gone. That’s not failure. That’s just how time works. Imagine you are the athlete and miss by some milliseconds to get that trophy. It’s the same thing with other life events.

What you’re left with is the question of what to do with the feeling.

The missed train has already left. There’s another one coming. That’s the only thing worth focusing on…