As we reach a certain stage in life, we gradually come to realise that many things will not, in fact, remain with us forever.

It might be someone who once meant a great deal to us, a time we can never return to, a familiar place, or even an object that has been with us for many years. No matter how reluctant we are to let go, life will always bring both encounters and partings.

I used to think that once something was lost, it was gone for good. Only later did I gradually realise that this isn’t actually the case. Loss isn’t the end; forgetting is. Just because someone has left, or a period of time has passed, doesn’t mean that everything that once happened has vanished along with them. The days we laughed together, the experiences we shared, the words we exchanged—those moments of care, love and companionship—will all remain, bit by bit, in our memories.Memories are truly marvelous.
They are invisible and intangible, yet they can stay with a person for a very long time. Sometimes it is an old photograph, sometimes a familiar song, or perhaps simply passing by a place once more—and suddenly, many scenes you thought you had forgotten come flooding back. You recall the people from that time, the events that took place, and the person you were back then. So I’ve come to feel more and more strongly that what we truly fear is never the passage of time itself, but rather that one day, even those beautiful memories will gradually fade from our minds.

And a memory that truly stays in the heart is rarely formed out of thin air. 
It might stem from a photograph, a landscape, an object, or a familiar smile; it might be a song, a phrase, or a voice that remains in our memory even many years later. Images help us preserve the scenes, sounds reawaken the feelings of that moment, whilst words gradually capture those emotions that cannot be put into words. A simple ‘thank you’, a blessing, or a letter—when we come across them again many years later—can still transport us back to that very moment.

That is why we take photographs, write, collect things, and create mementos to mark life’s important moments. It is not because we are reluctant to let go of the past, but because certain people and events are worth remembering.

This is also something I have come to care about more and more since founding Kamicarv. I hope that what a piece leaves behind is not merely its design and craftsmanship. It can also be a phrase, a surname, a blessing, or a story belonging to a particular person or family. When these meaningful elements are woven into a piece, and we see it again many years later, what we recall may no longer be the piece itself. Rather, it will be the people from back then, the feelings we had at the time, and the beauty that once truly existed.

At that moment, what the piece leaves behind is not merely paper, but memories. Life marches ever onwards; we cannot hold on to everyone, nor can we hold on to every moment. But those moments—of love, companionship and emotion—deserve a place in our lives. Some memories need not be recalled every day. It is enough that, many years later, when we see them again, a little warmth still lingers in our hearts.

I think this is why we should take care to preserve our beautiful memories. May what we leave behind be not merely a piece of work, but a beauty that can still be recalled many years from now.

( Translated from the original Chinese text )