In an Instant

by Suzanne Redfearn

“everyone deals with traumatic events in their own way, and sometimes it’s not really lying when they tell it different than it was so much as remembering in a way that allows them to live with it a little easier.”

I wonder about this, about whether our humanity is determined more by circumstance than conscience, and if any of us if backed into a corner can change.

but perhaps in all of us there is a base instinct for self-preservation, a feral nature, that when tested makes us capable of things we never believed ourselves capable of. Not even necessarily selfish.

Desperate people do things they wouldn’t normally do.

Never, not me, unaware that at any given moment, all of us are capable of doing what we least expect, them included. It is easy to sit in judgment after the fact.

You only live once, and no one has any idea how long that once is going to be, so grab on tight and hold on for the ride and don’t worry about it and don’t look back.

as I know now, that none of us really know each other. We don’t even really know ourselves.

The thought of leaving those I will be leaving is still as horrifying as it was the moment my life ended, but its inevitability can no longer be denied. I feel it.

Rest in peace is not merely an epitaph for a tombstone; it is the best we can hope for in death.

Every journey begins with a single step. Clear your mind of can’t. Fear is what stops you; courage is what keeps you going.”

“But really, who knows why any of us fall in love?” He lifts her hands to his lips, then lowers them to hold them against his heart. “All I know for certain is that my heart pounds harder when you walk in a room or when you look at me or when you smile.”