Words with an expiry date

I've been going through some old boxes and drawers lately, rummaging those deep corners that haven't seen daylight in years. It's amazing how many things we tend to keep over the years. Among the seemingly trivial things I pulled out are old cards, CDs, gifts (some unused), notes and letters that belong to what feels like another era. Cards and letters that bring back memories of young, happy, exciting, troubled, heart-wrenching times. Looking back, those words spoke of emotions that wanted to last forever, be it friendship, admiration, love or separation.

Today, they are merely expired words. Once meaningful, they are now but empty words on aging paper...or proof that one always moves forward...wading through and out of emotional turmoils of all kinds, and unless one were to stumble upon old written words, some memories are stuck in time, as they should be. Reading them again will trigger feelings that are sometimes mistaken as grief, sadness, regret even. But I believe it's actually a trick of the mind. Our memory briefly relives the emotions we felt when we first read those words.

And briefly, very briefly, we lose ourselves in time, right where the memories dwell. And what we feel can be compared to a ghost of feelings, nothing but remains of what was left behind. Because little did we know then that those words came with an expiry date. Past this, they lose all meaning and cannot touch anymore.

Holding us back

Now that I'm done with my Grey's Anatomy marathon, I'm really enjoying the soundtrack.

I've always loved how this show is a platform for debuting, young artists to showcase their talents.

Featured in the season finale, this is Holding Us Back by Katie Herzig. There's something quite powerfully moving about this melody, dark, sad but still hopeful.