"Therefore our everlasting farewell take. If we do meet again, why, we shall smile. If not, why then this parting was well made." ~Shakespeare, "Julius Caesar"
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We say goodbye so often. Throughout our lives, people come, people go, people change, without warning. Thinking about saying goodbye leaves my throat dry, my hands sweaty and my stomach in knots. My life has changed more often than the sunset does each second. I have said goodbye to more people than I can count. People are so easily forgotten. If I had to name some of my closest friends from elementary school, I couldn't do it. If I had to list out every single funeral I've ever attended, I couldn't do it. If I had to name my favorite teacher from middle school, I couldn't do it.
We cross paths with so many people throughout our lives, most of which we wouldn't be able to point out in a crowd five years from now. We say goodbye so often that we become numb to the dreadful finality that comes with saying goodbye. We don't remember names. We don't remember faces. We don't remember birthdays or favorite colors. We hardly remember where we were, what we did, and who we were with. We do, however, remember how we were impacted.
Too often I find myself asking, If all of this is temporary, and if all of these people and names and faces will soon disappear, and if my entire life can change in a matter of a minute, a month, or a year, what is the point? Ask yourself: what is the point of making friends, forming relationships, and making memories if all of it is short-lived?
The reality is, we are all temporary. Life is fleeting. The only entities that will last beyond our memory are intangibly passed on from one to another through relationships. Joy lasts. You may not remember who you were with or where you were, but you will remember the feelings of delight their smile gave you. Love lasts. You may not remember what happened or who was there, but you will remember the love you felt as they let you cry into their shoulder. Hurt lasts. You may not remember what the fight was about, but you will remember the sting of their words, and they will remember the scars from yours.
People won't remember your name, your face or your words. People will always remember how you made them feel. Life is too short to create more pain, hurt and anger. Spread the love. Love lasts.
