Life is about the memories.

Life is about recognizing those moments that warm your heart,  and even those who send mascara trickling down soft cheeks. It's about memorizing every detail, sound, feeling - everything - in the instances so powerful and full of emotion they send shivers down your spine and make your hair stand on edge. Whether it be suspense, love, hope or the final moments of a beating heart, cling to even the most minor of dust particles swirling into oblivion. Hold them close to your heart and promise yourself to remember.

Remember the laughs, the smiles, the hardships, the passion. Remember those who went on the same journey with you. Remember the cries of pain in unbearable workouts as sweat drips from your forehead to the wooden floors of a familiar gym and the jokes made afterwards of how much stronger we now are. Remember the sunlight piercing the clouds and painting them with tints of pink so that they look like cotton candy on your last visit to see a loved one. Remember every plane on the face of that loved one. Keep remembering.

Remember how safe you feel in their arms as you're hugging goodbye at the airport. Do you remember? The sound of their heart beating. The deep, shaky breaths to hold back tears as we whisper 'I love you' in between tantalizingly gentle kisses. Hugging yourself, arms wrapped around your torso, as you watch him trudge through security, looking back every few steps with an expression that to this day I cannot begin to fathom into words. Do you remember?

Regret is for those who look back on that once precious moment and find it blurred with the forgotten dust particles. They will wallow in their failure to recognize and cherish moments of which ultimately kindle our souls. Hold on to those words whispered. Revive the warm eyes and bright smiles. Recognize the small things that ultimately make you happy and learn how to appreciate those things in that moment. Don't have flashes of meaningful reflections on the side of a busy life, but instances of rushing amidst being so grateful for the tiniest details. Love every step of your journey, and you will find that a plethora of blissful memories will follow without you ever realizing it. Strive to never regret. Live for the moments you cannot put into words.