Moments

I really connect with the song “Grapevine Fires” by Death Cab For Cutie. If you haven’t heard it, I’d say check it out for sure, but then of course I would, I’ve got that connection. Anyway, It reminds me like so many things do, of the finite nature of our lives. As the lyrics wind around the melody, and the harmony of the chorus fills my ears, I’m reminded of the importance of moments. Life is, after all, just a series of small moments. They are less like scenes in a play, and more like single frames in a longer picture. Unlike a film however, there is no rewinding. How would the way we watch a movie be effected if we knew that we could only watch a movie once, and then never be able to see it again. Would we watch flippantly as I’m sure many of us do, talking, or maybe checking our email during the slow parts? Or, would we treasure each part, absorbing it, trying to understand its place in the fullness of the greater story?

The song reminds me the importance of capturing little moments. minute impressions, and the observation of minutiae often taken for granted or ignored completely can have an often spiritual or supernatural affect on us, if we take time to understand their significance. Some of the most potent and memorable times in my life have been very simple. Standing out on my back porch on a chilly autumn morning, watching as the fog settles on the frosted grass, or reading on the couch late at night, while jazz plays softly on NPR in the other room. Moments like these can have a profound power if allowed. They become transformative experiences, moments that allow us to reflect on, well, whatever we might want. Whether we ruminate on ourselves, our friends, things spiritual, political or existential, or simply silence our minds and let the moment wash over us, we learn something.

What people do with these moments is up to them. I think most people dismiss them. I have at times found them uncomfortable, and can’t blame these people entirely. The mind rebels, sometimes violently, against change in its many forms. These moments of enlightenment bring that change, they change something inside of us altering, ever so slightly, the way we see, and understand the world. That’s scary. Many people, myself included, tend to succumb to that fear allowing it to carry us out of the moment, and into the day. We slip back into the stream of time. We pop in our earbuds, blast our car stereo’s, or bury ourselves in work to drown out the voice that tells us to seek the moments. But, when we bury the fear, reject the pace of the day, and allow ourselves, even for just a few seconds to reach out and grab the moments instead of letting them fly-by, we open ourselves up to incredible possibilities.