Take a moment.......

How long is a moment?

 

A moment is usually a brief, indefinite interval of time, but it can also be a specific point in time, or a great moment in the past as in a historical context, or of significance/value, or in a string of events leading to one pivotal moment.

Some ways we use the term: "Let me have a moment", "That was a great moment in the history of mankind", "Let me finish my call, it will only take a moment", "I've been waiting for this moment all my life", "I just had a moment of insight", etc.etc".

Pulling a tooth may also take a moment, as well as having an injection, having an accident, losing control, etc.etc.

A brief, indefinite interval of time......how we experience that moment emotionally is not necessarily included; as a "vessel" for time a "moment" may be viewed as neutral.

Compared to the rest of the Universe, mankind has only inhabited earth for a moment,  compared to infinity, a humans lifespan is just a moment.

How significant or insignificant, long or short, a moment is seems dependent on how we experience it, what thoughts and emotions we attach to the experiencing of it.

I recently attended an exhibition of a multitude of works including installations, paintings, multi-media, sculptures, paintings, photography etc. and while viewing one of the creations, I had a "moment". An artist had constructed a huge structure out of cardboard which from the outside looked like a giant yellow cocoon, but stepping inside of it, it was more reminiscent of stepping into a cathedral. As I stood there, I was struck by an overwhelming feeling of reverence.

Simply put, I had a "moment".

I ignored my intellect telling me that it was just cardboard, paint and glue, and allowed myself to just experience my feelings.

Some of us may suggest that we don't have the time to have "moments" because we are too busy with real life moments, others may deem moments as "mumbojumbo", or perhaps we view time as a constant without any particular moments?

Taking a "moment", if I may suggest, is separating out a particular amount of time to focus on a particular phenomena.

Perhaps it would benefit you to take a moment to really taste the food you are eating, to listen to some music without any interruptions, to find a nice quiet spot at lunch and just enjoy the warmth of the sun, to think through some thoughts put on hold, to go for a walk in nature, to call a friend, to start reading that book, to go to the beach and listen to the ocean, to have a nice meal with a friend, etc.etc..........

A lifetime is made up of a lot of moments, some more memorable than others, and some indistinguishable from each other. Perhaps like an image is made up of a myriad of pixels yet on the screen appears as a whole, so our lives are made up of moments appearing as a lifetime?

"Old" people (mature) often tell us to value our lives, to appreciate each day, that life is short and so on, perhaps there is wisdom in their words? Life in every breath, living in each passing moment, each moment a gift.

What about bad moments? you may ask. What if a person's life is full of difficulties and hardship, one "bad" moment after another? Viktor Frankl suggests that the only true freedom a human has is his choice of attitude towards the goings on in his life. In his book "Mans search for Meaning" he writes: "Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response, in our response lies our growth and our freedom."

Viktor Frankl spent three years in concentration camps including Auschwitz yet managed to survive, and not only did he survive but he managed to write a book full of hope.

Even in the darkest of hours, we can choose to take a moment and fill it with hope and beauty.

One of the amazing capabilities available to our mind is that we can choose what to fill it with;

in a moment we can be sipping a pink drink with an umbrella on an imaginary beach in the Bahamas, we can be climbing Mount Everest, we can sail the seven Seas, we can walk the streets of Paris, ride a red double-decker bus in London, walk the Chinese wall; there are endless possibilities for destinations in our minds.

If your life is hectic, stressful, fraught with despair and sadness......take a moment and fill it with something hopeful and loving.

If your life is complicated, confusing and full of anxieties, take a moment and fill it with peace and stillness.

If your life is happy and full of goodness, take a moment and fill it with gratitude and humility. Whatever your life may be, take a moment....... and just breathe, there is life in every breath.

 

"When we are no longer able to change a situation - we are challenged to change ourselves".  (Viktor Frankl)