Journeys and Destinations

I have loved quotes for about as long as I have learnt what the word 'quote' means..
Having put that in context, i shall start this post by quoting Pablo Neruda who wrote, amongst many others :

We, of that time, are no longer the same 

I no longer love her, that's certain, but how I loved her 

My voice tries to find the wind to touch her hearing 

Another's. She will be another's. As she was before my kisses. 

Her voice. Her bright body. Her infinite eyes. 

I no longer love her, that's certain, but maybe I love her 

Love is so short, forgetting is so long.

(Pah. If i had a penny for each time i quoted Neruda!)

And today,

as I looked through (clicked on, more like) old pictures, I got to thinking that there should be a word for that feeling when you look at someone (or images of them) from the past and remembers a time when their built were yours to seek comfort in, and their cheeks were yours to pinch when you felt like it, and their hair were yours to tousle when you want it messy.

You remember this feeling, while at the same time, being fully aware that these are merely figments of your memories. That it is no longer applicable.
Yes, there should definitely be a word for that feeling.

Having said that, I shall place an interval of another quote right about here :

Remember, you are part of a beautiful story that did not start when you were born.
As your body cuts through the air, think of only the things that made you smile, the people that made you love, the ideas that made you strong.
Remember, those things will never happen again but they cannot unhappen.
Remember, what you felt can't ever be taken away.
Remember, you are part of a beautiful story that did not start when you were born.
And it will not end when you die.
Remember.

And so I have decided to go on retreats (not that I needed an excuse to want to go on retreats in the first place!) so i can remember and forget. So I can ask questions and receive answers. So I can get lost and be found.

I think it's gonna be a much needed break from monotony (look at that! now I'm a BFM marketer!).

After all, Terry Pratchett said

"Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving."