Life is happening...as if we needed a reminder!

I find the transition points of life to be the same in many respects in the lives of those around me. As I think back, I remember how High School was. You had your crew that you were tight with and all of the misadventures that you had. I take the term misadventure and draw it out a bit more to say I thank God I am still alive to tell some of those stories and to say...Dont be stupid! When I left HS, I kept up with my crew and other good friends while making a whole new gang of friends. Although I didnt live on campus, I had some great times and I think who I surrounded myself with made all of the difference. When I graduated, I started to see the changes in my friend connections. Around 22-24 we all went our own way, moving on to new jobs, adventures, marriages, family etc. That was very hard to deal with, knowing that folks you were mad cool with and were always there were just now there in spirit. What remained were memories and the places you went brought back the fun and the misadventures. Grad school brought a new set of cool peeps, but not the closeness that I was used to because grad school is so fleeting. You blink and it is over, time to move to your next challenge, achieve that next goal. At that time, I could see the changes in family as well as in friend ties. I lost a friend and a couple of family members in a short period of time while I saw those grad school ties severed as we all went our merry way. As these peaks and valleys come to us, we deal with them in our own way. At first, it was hard for me to say goodbye to my friends in my 20s, it is never any easier in my 30s but I realize over time that it is a part of "life is happening" and it is happening every day. Being here in the A.C., I have made some good ties but now as another cycle occurs, some of those ties are unraveling. Many go their way, others make changes to their lives. Sometimes I feel like in the midst of so much change, I am standing still. I know the plans I have for me and I have to yield to God's plan but I often have the weird feeling that life is passing me by in some respects. Maybe I am paranoid and maybe I should take the cue to go forward and kick ass like I have never kicked ass to get to where I need to be next not forgetting that I am where I am for a reason and until I accomplish what needs to be done at this level, the next cannot be fully realized.