Sometimes, we don’t fully understand the significance of a moment until it is in the past. Only in hindsight can we see how others in our lives, whether they are strangers, friends, or close relatives, have left their mark on us. When this realization hits, it often brings a mixture of wonder, regret, melancholy, and even grief, as if we have missed the chance to acknowledge the moment.

Far too often, we rush through life, barely aware, already reaching for the next thing. But what if we live more slowly? What if we linger gently in presence of our connections and let the universe remember alongside us?

Recently, I found myself at the close of a chapter, and as it ended, I pause to feel the grief. Endings and separations indeed, evoke something equally tender and melancholic within me. I am always left with a sense of wonder about what significance this moment will hold in the future, realizing, perhaps, that may be the last time I am in that place, share a moment, or pass by someone whose presence meant something, even in a quiet way.

Sometimes, I question myself: Why do I care so much? Why does it matter to me so deeply, even when it seems like no one else notices? Most of the time, I feel alone in this, as if I am holding on too tightly or being too much. But what I truly want is for the time shared, those moments, even with strangers, to be acknowledged.

It feels important to me to recognize that this, these seconds, these minutes, these months, is our life unfolding. And once they pass, they don’t come back. They have value, even in the smallest, most seemingly insignificant encounters. I think it matters that we acknowledge them, that we see them for what they are: pieces of our one, fleeting life.

“Be you, the world will adjust”

R-D