People tend to come and go in our lives; for some, it's only a handful, and for others, it's a big list.
I consider my network and circle to be quite big, starting from the younger bunch to those who are much older than me. People I've known from work, hobbies, some in real life, a lot of them from different online platforms too, both WEB2 and WEB3.
Now, I truly don't know who stayed and who didn't. Yes, with most of these people, I'm somehow connected still; especially through social media. I know about their whereabouts more or less, and they know more or less about me. Even though I don't update my social media as much these days. It's either memes or some wholesome stuff that you'll find on my feed. My personal life, relationships, friendships, and circumstances, I keep to myself.
It's just difficult to always be in contact with someone, no matter how close you once were, no matter how special the bond was; the chances are that it won't always be as strong. And it's understandable, our circumstances in life may change, and we may have different plans that have a completely different trajectory. We may also "outgrow" some people, as they say.
Childhood friendships, teenage love, even from mischievous rivals to buddies, to responsible adults; you may have a plan to always be together, to always stay connected, to grow and build something together. Alas, 90% of the time it is just impossible to pull off. Because life has its own set of plans for us all.
A dear friend of mine has decided to part ways with our startup company recently. Even though it was sudden, I was kind of expecting it for a while now. I can't even blame him completely, for his life and his current circumstances, and for the sake of his family and responsibilities, he had to make some tough choices.
Now, whether it's someone's very conscious decision to part ways, whether it's fate or our circumstances, sooner or later, an unforeseen reason will emerge, and leave you no choice. You must sometimes put your friendship, and relationship at risk, for the sake of your own growth.
The stress of higher education, a job, familial responsibilities, and even unemployment.
A sudden event that will come and shake up your world, and will drag you away from your so-called lifestyle, friends and acquaintances, and sometimes even family. You will have no choice but to distance yourself, whether it be your choice of wanting to work really hard and focus in solitude, or to simply go monk-mode, away from all of modern life's material and distractions.
I've had to make such choices in life, during many phases and ages. So, when someone is going through a similar phase, I truly do understand where they're coming from.
Whether they decide to completely distance themselves, or partially stay, I'm not afraid of the distance between myself and a dear friend, nor am I afraid to lose a lover who doesn't want to stay. Because if it is truly meant to be, then no form of external force or pressure can change it.
Does it not hurt or bother me? It does, sometimes, to an extent. But at this point, I've just become numb. This isn't my first rodeo. I've had a fair share of experiences in life, and a few scores of failures too. I believe that I've undergone 80% of my life's character development already.
So, nothing surprises me at this point...
We can need the people we once met after a while even though we no longer talk to them. It is usually good to make sure that we have their contacts or a way to always contact them I’m case something comes up in future
I try and stay connected in some way, but it's quite tough to do when your circle is big.