20 years ago, it was a common sound effect on television shows when a scene came to abrupt stop, to have the background music stop with the effect of a needle dragging along the grooves, as one carelessly took the stylus off the record. When you wanted to start listening to the record again, you would try to find your place, and drop the needle on it. It would make a loud clunk and the music would start playing again.

Much like a record suddenly paused in the middle of a song, one sometimes has a moment in their lives that turns everything up on the table. Where everything was going to plan, until suddenly something goes terrible wrong, and you spend months rebuilding and trying to figure out where you where on the record before you lifted the needle off the record.

It’s often not easy to go back where you left off. Times change, experiences change your perspective on everything. Part of your innocence is forever lost. You struggle to find your new identity and to make up for lost time. The world has evolved and things have changed, ever since the needle left the record in that sudden fashion. Much like the record that continues to spin around, time marches along while you recover.

What happened, happened. You have to tell yourself that, and hold your head, and move forward. You can’t get back what you lost, most of important the time. But you can move forward, seeking new direction and new experience. You have satisfied with the best you can do moving forward.