When life hands us lemons, we are apparently supposed to make lemonade. But, what happens when life hands us lemonade, a semi-sweet version of something once sour?

It seems as though we thrive in finding ways to refine an already-enhanced bi-product because we are rarely satisfied with what we have in hand. In recognizing the silver-lining only under negative duress, I wonder, do our hectic lives blur all the lovely bits of life taking place around us each moment?

Regardless of our current situation – our occupation, financial outlook, relationship status – we are driven by the need to improve; to do better, to be better. Contentment becomes impossible as we manoeuvre through a walled maze like mice in a bad science experiment. Instead, perhaps, maybe we should stop for even a split second to appreciate the road we have traveled rather than focus solely on the journey ahead.

In standing still and contemplating what we have when we have it, we are more likely to stop the agonizing stretch of living outside of the moment.

There are tangible memories, those of which are yellowed and glued to the pages of a photo-album, names and dates scrolled on small pieces of paper indicating the who and what of it all. They are joyous occasions of weddings and birthdays, ear-to-ear grins and bath-time bubbles –the foundation that life is built on.

There are also memories that exist solely in pixels, fragmented pieces of an experience that somehow fit together – even when we wish they didn’t. There, imprinted on our hearts, those fragile moments stay – even when we wish they wouldn’t.

And, if we could walk a day in someone else’s shoes, only then would we realize how even though the journey is different, the beginning and end are the same. Defining moments are found somewhere in between, the nuts and bolts that hold us together.

Taking a train ride down the track toward Would-have-Could-have-Should-have, we know the obvious stations to get off at. Hindsight, as they say, is always 20/20. But life doesn’t work in reverse. Without a magic potion to take us back to yesterday, last year or a decade ago, we have to be ok with what we have done… said… chosen.

But there’s an upside to not doing the right thing the first go-round…

It gives us the footing to be better, to think rationally, to grow and smile and be healthy. Reflecting on the years of wasted energy in attempting to connect the dots to form someone other than myself, I somehow think that had I not gone through that, I wouldn’t appreciate this nearly as much.

Maybe regret can exist only when we doubt the importance of the memories we’re most afraid to learn from…