The Things We Carried

The Things We Carried
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One thing I've been thinking about lately as I peruse the old photos in my phone or glance over old social media posts -- looking back is painful.

The past is a place where so much of who we are now started, but it's also the place we leave things that can't remain with us. We didn't want to leave them, but we just couldn't fit them in our bag. Because time is ceaseless, and all things are transient. And what is, is partially the result of what couldn't be.

So when you open up that box of pictures, or take that stroll down memory lane, take a salve with you. A salve to ease the pain that you couldn't save it or take it with you.

Life is the ultimate barterer. And he drives a hard bargain. Always. Be happy with what you've traded up for. Even while you light a candle for what couldn't be saved. And know that the one thing that never fades or can be diminished is love. It only grows in value over time. It's the one thing life allows you to keep an infinite supply of.

Whatever love we find along the way can be ours eternally. That's the real salve. Or gift, even. Rub it generously over the hurt of things lost. It heals and protects. Life is a gloriously real and beautifully intense journey through which we all must pass. And it always makes more room for love.

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