However, the more I think about this advice nugget, the more I realize that perhaps it is not a criticism of my not enjoying the current "moment," but more of a warning to not let me fanciful nature extend the so called "moment" past its natural shelf life. An encounter with a stranger that leads to a wonderful conversation about books; meeting people while on a trip and sharing experiences that will, in their unique way, stay with you for years to come; a random encounter that stirs the heart and soul into long abandon, and somewhat tumultuous, territories. These are encounters, or moments, that sometimes spark inspiration, a type of internal revolution that leaves you wanting more. The effect may be long lasting, but what I am starting to realize is that the people involved are often not.
Perhaps living in the moment means taking the experience for its face-value. Taking and giving bits of yourself that make the heart and soul push for something more than rhythms we often allow ourselves to become accustomed to. A type wake-up call without a snooze function. You start your day, but the sound you wake up to is no longer ringing in your ear as the minutes trickle by.
The moment is the here and now and it is often epitomized by the person with whom the experience is shared. The trick is not to let disillusion seep in after the initial spark goes out and each of you go separate ways. We interconnect once or twice in a life-time with the faces involved in the moment, but the effect is often longer lasting than the connections made.
I often get in a funk about this, but slowly acknowledge that this is the ebb and flow of life. We collect moments shared and individually experienced and it is on a rare occasion that a collection of these moments begin to form a history: a friendship blooms from the mutual need, interest, support and love of the other. It is a multilayered and extremely complex mechanism that one cannot, or should not, expect from each individual contact.
Perhaps this annoying saying is a warning to those idealistic romantics, like me, who want to believe that the connection sparked has a longer shelf life than the explosion created. After the dust settles and our senses calm down, we walk away with the knowledge that there is more out there, but the best part, which I tend to overlook in my dismay at the loss of a potential new connection, is that we have loved ones who will most likely support and get joy out of building on these moments with you.
