Seeking Moments

Are you like me? Do you set out to experience moments of intensity? Do you seek moments?

When I was younger, I used to do this more often than I do now. I would rise before dawn to go and watch the sunrise from a hilltop or the lakeside beach. I would walk slowly under an umbrella through a rainstorm, or head out to the woods on a windy day when the treetops were groaning and bending wildly under the wind's strength. Sometimes I got myself out of bed and dressed in the middle of the night to go for a walk in the moonlight. One winter night, under a full moon, I put on my cross-country skis and set out into the forest. I have never had another experience like that. The moonlight was silver and white on the snow. The silence was total. I was alone, my partner having declined the invitation to accompany me on the adventure of a lifetime right in our backyard. The forest shadows were black. It was darker than I thought it would be; the moonlight had seemed so bright on the snow-covered lawn of the house, but under the trees, the shadows were everywhere. I sensed movement in the darkness under the big trees and it spooked me. I gathered my courage around me like a magical cape, and continued until I had made my way through the whole loop, which in daylight took about an hour. In the moonlight it seemed much longer. Those moments were amazing to me. I will never forget that experience! 

Here is a journal entry from December of 2008.
Today, a Sunday, I walked at Saint Peter’s Village woods. It was an awesome experience. I felt myself to be totally immersed in the woodland, the hillside, the wind bending the trees and causing a roaring noise as it passed through their branches. I loved everything around me so very very much. I was in the divine moment for a long time, an hour or more. I find it easier now to be in the moment for longer and longer periods of time – especially when I am in the woods. I also watched the sunset from the red circle rug in front of the sliding glass door. I sat there for a half hour simply being and enjoying the view. Again, I felt myself to be in total peace in the moment. I am doing a lot of deep breathing, and I think this is helping me to connect to the divine Now.

It seems so easy, doesn't it... So clear. It is moments that make up our lives. Only that. Moments.
 
Do you actively seek to experience all those amazing moments that your being in the world allows you to experience? Do you celebrate your eyes, and your ears, and your sense of taste, the feel of the muscles in your legs as you walk uphill? Thrill to the taste of the peaches when they are at their peak of ripeness, sweetness and juiciness? 
 
Sometimes, I get up in the morning thinking about what I will do and experience and this phrase comes to me: "Sing in the day!" 
 
Sometimes, I get up in the morning and sing a little Pooh-Bear hum. It goes like this:
"I get to be in the world.
I get to be in the world today.
I get to be in the world.
I get to sing and play."
 
I'm going to go do some yoga - another wonderful experience in the moment. I'm going to try doing the yoga with no music in the background. I usually have music; today I'll have the soft sound of the rain falling outside my window.
Seeking moments.
One by one.
Seeking them and then thoroughly immersing myself in them. 
 
Bye for now, friends.