Every moment we are alive is one we cannot have back. We can keep the memories but they would not be as real as the actual moment it happened. Gradually they fade. I would say that Nas is a poetic genius and I have said that about all of my favorite lyricists. Hear me out though, what do you call somebody who writes all the relatable details of our lives in lyrics? Think about the song Moments by Nas.
Just listen and contemplate the weight of every word in that song. Oftentimes music makes us nostalgic. This particular one might tear you up. Both in the good and bad way. The good because you will relive the moments you had that are already gone. The bad because you will also have to relive the sad moments. The only middle ground is that you are never having that moment back. Nas talks of the highlights of his life that he can’t relive. Don’t we all have such?
I remember when I was younger. When life was more optimistic. The little understanding of evil that was in the world. When all of us seemed equal. I miss those days. I remember the first time I realized the beauty in music. The song was Celebration by Kool and the gang. I was four years old. I can have firsts for different songs I hear but one thing is I will never have the same feeling I had on that day. It was a special moment that I cannot relive.
We go back in time to the last dinner we had as a family. The jokes, laughter, teasing and love we shared with them. Back to simpler times. If you stop to think, that moment is gone forever. We could try to recreate it but it will not be the same. Some of the people are no longer with us anyway. Do you sit down and realized something you should have said a while back? You had no courage to do it back then and you are never getting the chance again.
Do you remember the first time you fell in love? the time that you had no idea what the feeling was neither what it meant but you were not afraid to pursue it? You are never getting that back. Sure, you might fall in love with someone else all over again but it will never be the same. This time you will have the experience of getting disappointment and you will not be as ready to get into it as you did the first time. Do you remember your first kiss? I mean, do you remember that special moment when your knees felt weak? That time you showed your lover your vulnerability? Yeah. You are not getting that moment back as well.
Do you remember the time you discovered your idol? That moment you realized that there is someone worth emulating and since that time you drew part of your life to fit into those steps. We might have lost some of them and felt really lost ourselves. It could have made a setback for someone. Some we wished to have met but then life happened. Do you remember that moment you learnt that not everyone is looking out for you and the world is a cruel place? That betrayal you felt when they turned against you? You will not relive the moment.
Sometimes we wish the people we have already lost could see us and appreciate how far we have come. How we were able to conquer a lot to be where we are. To fulfill the dreams that we shared when we were still together. When I first heard this song, I realized how much we take the things that matter in our life very lightly. We do not enjoy the time we have with the people we have in our lives yet we are aware of the transient nature of life.
We lose sometimes, we regret that we did not have enough time with them but we did not consider that when they were with us. I cannot imagine there are things I am never getting back in this life. But the greatest news is we learn. And from this I learnt to savor every moment that I am alive. Not to be afraid to take risks that I know would benefit me in the long run. Take my time to enjoy music, art, love and everything the world has to offer. Not to forget to live because life is for the living. There is more to life and it is beautiful.