Not all relationships, including soulmates, are meant to last forever, and accepting that fact is the first step to getting the most out of soul crossings. As mindbodygreen therapist Dennis Nguyen, LCSW, previously said, the future will have more opportunities for different connections with different people. “Life will go on, and today there are many opportunities [and] you might even meet the right person when the time comes. Even if this opportunity passes, there will be more of them,” he says.

And according to Nguyen and Richardson, instead of dwelling on the impermanence of that connection, focus on what it gave you. As Nguyen explains, “Maybe this person has pushed you to take a serious look at where you’re going in life. It is valuable! Perhaps the process was painful and potentially very necessary.”

The most important thing in any soul connection is to realize how the relationship changed you on a core level: what it taught you, what it healed in you, and why you treasured it so much. Know that just because the timing was bad, this person was still the reason to be in your life, even if only for a short time.

“You may think of that person fondly for the rest of your life, or even think of them as a spirit guide,” Richardson previously wrote for mindbodygreen, adding, “Soul transitions teach us not to judge the importance or depth of a soulmate by the length of the relationship.”