The Present I'll Miss in the Future

In a life made up of endless choices,

it is not always easy to hold these two truths at the same time:

to cherish today as if it could be our last,
and to nurture the things we love as if we have a long future ahead of us.

I do not think we need to regret our past.

Whatever choices we made,
we were doing the best we could with who we were at the time.

And yet, there were days when I was living in today
while looking so far ahead to a future that had not even arrived
that I forgot to truly see the moment right in front of me.

Once your child grows up,
you can never return to the days when they were little.

When someone you love leaves this world,
you can never return to the days when they were still here.

And one day, when I return to the sky,
I may never again meet the same people,
in the same way, in this life.

That is why I have come to realize
just how precious now really is.

An ordinary day.
A familiar voice.
The warmth of someone beside you.

The things that feel so normal today
may someday become the moments
you would give anything to return to.

So I want to carry the tenderness and ache of the past with me,
while keeping my eyes on the present
and still believing in the future.

That is the feeling I poured into this song.

And I think it may gently resonate
with anyone who has ever found themselves wishing,

If only I could go back to those days.