One of the worst kinds of pain is the kind that comes from coming close to getting something incredible only to lose it forever. It’s the athlete, who trains for a lifetime for their moment of glory only to suffer from a paralyzing injury, the student who makes one dumb decision on a weekend and loses their scholarship forever, or the traffic that caused you to miss that job interview.

It’s the pain of missed or squandered opportunities.

It’s the pain that causes you to think about what you could have done differently, to long for the way things were, to desire things that at present are unattainable. You try to move on, to forget and stay positive, but then unexpectedly you wake up in the morning with it on your mind. You lay in bed and dream about the way things could have been. The dull ache, deep within your soul and the wondering about why things happened the way they did. Then you wonder if things will ever get better, if you will always have that moment in the back of your mind. Part of you tries to push the thoughts out of your mind and to think about positive things, but part of you likes the torture of these thoughts, because the memory was so good, and you came so close…

So you move forward, try to create new opportunities, try to forget the past, and try to sleep at night. But in the back of your mind there’s the hope that what you desire will someday be fulfilled.