I was scrolling through posts on my social media account and noticed that as years past, I’ve uploaded fewer and fewer photos of myself. That actually got me thinking, “What changed in the last few years?”
A lot of major things took place. Loss of a loved one, job change, learning new skills, less but unique adventures, going out of my comfort zone. Yet I was looking for one or two subtle things that might have made the greatest impact. Lo and behold, I figured it out.
Somewhere along the way, I made up my mind to stop capturing moments. Instead, allow my self to be captured by it.
In the past, I was eager to take a snapshot of every interesting thing I see. Eager to show it to the world, and sometimes eager to show it off to the world. Regardless of the intention, every time I post something, it made me feel proud. While I agree that all good things are worth sharing, sometimes, a rare moment invites only you:
to be in it,
to be enchanted by it,
be intimate with it,
to savor its goodness,
or be lost in its spell.
Maybe sooner or later you will encounter these moments and will be faced with a challenge. Who knows one day while gazing through a beautiful moonlit sky and sensing an impulse to take a photo, your camera just suddenly won’t work, or maybe your phone can’t be found. Rather than feel frustrated, allow yourself to take it all in—
the scenery,
the feel of the soft wind blowing on to your skin,
the sound of a peaceful night gently whispering to your ear,
the smell and sight of fresh leaves clutching to branches of a tree.
Just be in it. Be one with it.
You will be surprised that not all beautiful experiences need to be grand. Oftentimes, beauty rests in the simple, and sometimes in the ordinary. You just have to be in it to unravel its charm, to recognize its wonder.
Moments earlier, I could have just shown you a photo of that moonlit sky and the beautiful surrounding. But I chose to describe it to you. Even then my words fell short. That’s just because the highest good cannot be perfectly expressed or defined, though you know it’s there, and it is real. You can’t just fit it inside a capsule or recreate an image of it. You can’t place something so infinite, absolute and boundless into a limited, confined medium. It will be like draining a vast ocean of its water and putting that water into a little hole.
Next time, allow yourself to be captured by a special moment. Take everything in and bring it with you. When the right opportunity comes, share that experience with someone. Describe it to him or her:
-with an overwhelming delight,
-with glitter in your eyes,
-with excitement in your hands and
-thrill in your body.
When you do, you get to relive that moment as you tell the story. You get to be inside that sublime experience one more time.
Question:
Were you able to experience these rare moments yourself? Do you revisit these occasions and does the feeling about it never grow old? Comment here. Share your story.
