MOMENTS

            There is nothing like "the moment". Those nano-seconds that hold our attention and cause us to feel something we don’t always feel. Those explosions in time that invade our hearts with hope, joy and appreciation and value. The only thing about those precious moments is they go as fast as they come and we lose sight of them as quickly as we behold them. They get pushed down into our bag of memories and stay there only to be brought out from time to time when something triggers the memory and causes us to savor what we no longer can taste.

            Moments!

            The saddest thing about this experience we all are in called life is that we cherish very little, forget more than we remember, value what we don’t have and spend way too much time thinking about a future that none of us are guaranteed. Why is that? Why do we put so much value in the worthless?

            As you grow older you realize how much time you have wasted wasting time on unnecessary drama and the absolutely unimportant. How many precious seconds do we lose valuing what ultimately to us become meaningless. Looking back, if you are blessed enough to get the opportunity to, is a very sobering thing for the one who is willing to be honest and admit their own foolishness having ignored what mattered most for what in hindsight only came and went and more often than not took way more than it gave.

            Christmas is an emotional hodgepodge created by men to cash in on the very thing it hits, emotions. If the Apostles didn't keep it, why do we? An interesting thing. No, I'm not Scrooge, but it creates the idea that at this one single time of year we are to suddenly get it right and think of others as more important that ourselves. We watch movies and listen to songs in order to get us “in the spirit” of emptying our wallets as if to somehow to identify with God who gave us His Son as the gift of redemption to us all. As unimpressive as trying to match that ultimately is in the human realm, how much more unimpressive do you think it is to the Divine? We get so lost in the "spirit" that we lose perspective of the point completely. But if there is a point, then what is that point? It’s a simple one... moments, not stuff, not things, not all the chaos and despair the season brings with it… those itty bitty seemingly insignificant moments that are taking place second by second that have nothing to do with presents or parties or "things" are the most significant and valuable things of all.

            This morning I learned of the passing of a dear friend's wife after her long battle with cancer. She was in her early 50’s. Last night I went the funeral of a friend whose husband suffered a massive stroke two days ago and died at 66. And just now I have learned that another of my dear friends sister in-law’s battle with cancer is about to come to an end. She is 38 with 4 children.

Death comes to us all. It doesn’t knock, it just opens the door and ushers us out of this world and into the next. It makes me think deep and hard about the brevity of life and the fact that there are no guarantees. What we have in front of us, right this very second… is all we have. It’s what we get. Tomorrow is not what we think it is. It’s an illusion. All we have is right now. Do you realize that? Perhaps it’s time to consider what it means?

I am not the grim reaper, only the bearer of the truth which is the truth. If you learn the value of moments now you will enjoy the moments that are right in front of you rather than thinking about the ones that have yet to come. Moments matter! It may also cause you to consider how you impact the lives of others rather than thinking only about yourself. Life is not about what's out there somewhere… it's about what is right here, right now. That is the joy of living in the here and now and the true reward that giving gives. That’s what love is… mastering moments that matter. It is, after all, the Christmas Carol that Dickens wanted to convey when he created the story of Scrooge.

© 2014 Steven Bliss

a special thanks to Elena Shumilova for her beautiful and poignant photographs.