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Intangible Things #1: Regret

To set the mood for the chapter, listen to the song "What Hurts The Most" by Rascal Flatts. I swear, the first time I watched the music video, I literally sobbed. Damn these music videos that make me so emotional.

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My heart just broke. Well, a piece of it did.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is such a beautiful work of literature, I just don't know how to encompass this masterpiece fully in words. It takes place in the heart of Nazi Germany, beginning when nine-year old orphan Liesel Meminger moves in with her foster parents. The struggles this poor child went through and the joy she found in the little things we take for granted just really hit home. And the fact that Death was narrating her life on Himmel Street just added to this page-turner of a novel.

I'm not going to even deny that I shed a couple tears at the end. It was just so devastating, the way it all came to an end. But that's expected of World War II--that event was certainly a far cry from sunshine and rainbows. This haunting tale makes you really reflect on a lot of things, but I felt like regret was one of the key elements that came into play in this book.

Regret. Let's talk about regret.

Regret is a painful feeling that throbs in your heart when you know you should've or could've done something, but you didn't. Or perhaps it could be what you did do, and after all is said and done, you wish you never had done it to begin with. It's that longing and that what if that haunts you in your dreams every night when you go to sleep. Sometimes, it even consumes a person to the point that they become a former husk of what they used to be. That's how powerful this emotion is.

The thing about regret, however, is that you can't build on it. The only thing it's good for is wallowing in. And that, my friends, is a sheer waste of time.

Sure we all regret things in life, but moving on is what allows us to learn from the past and shape ourselves into a stronger and wiser (hopefully) person.

In the incredibly profound lyrics of Sara Bareillas:

"All we can do is try. And live like we're still alive."

I couldn't have said it any better.

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Although I didn't attach it, listen to the song "Chasing The Sun" by Sara Bareillas after you've read the chapter. It's a song about moving on, and that is exactly what you should do when you're sinking in a quicksand of regret.

Also, as I mentioned above, do read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. It's a wonderful eye-opening read that offers a different perspective on World War II.