Life is a series of moments laid out on a long, undulating film strip, each individual strip intersecting with those of others, sometimes merging, and although some people’s moments are in the same time and place, each perspective is unique. There are highs and lows where the focus is perfect and the details are crystal clear. Many more are out of focus, long-forgotten, tucked away in a dusty box in the attic, never to be seen again.
Some believe when we die and the blinders come off and we find ourselves “home”, unbound by the illusion of time, we can choose any moment or period of our most recent incarnation and either relive it or watch it from a 3rd person perspective, helping to cement into our consciousness the experience we gained.
Which moments in your life would you want to relive?
When we reminisce about our lives, we’ll undoubtedly remember some of the best moments. The moments we live for. They’re uncommon, spectacular, sometimes mundane yet deep, each in their own way. Often we didn’t realize at the time it was one of those rare moments, but with each passing year its significance and beauty grow in our mind, in reality.
They can’t be manufactured, only coaxed out of this existence by putting ourselves in the right place and being open to them. Rarely is it the action of the moment we remember, but rather the emotional experience. Brewing your morning coffee as the sun pours in on a Saturday morning, bacon sizzling in the pan, your kids running down the stairs to see what you have in store for them, your dog barking at a passerby.
I had one of these rare, beautiful moments this past Sunday. Still dripping wet from a quick swim, as I looked out over the large field to the distant tree line, every shade of green before me, I felt the hot mid-afternoon sun on my back and the breeze over my entire body. Finally full of leaves after a stubborn spring, the trees swayed in waves as the river trickled lazily behind me. I smiled and felt complete peace and happiness. There was nowhere I would have rather been in that moment.
We don’t have to wait until we die to revisit and relive those moments. All we have to do is remember. By doing so, a trace amount of those good feelings shoot forth into the present moment to enrich it. Even so, when my time is up, I’ll be revisiting that moment.