It's been a few days since I felt the need to write another post, THIS post, but I just haven't found that "moment" until today.
Originallly I wanted to call this post "magical moments", but that was already taken by Disney when cast members hand out special, or rather magical, moments to individuals or families. For example, when my husband and I were first married and spent part of our honeymoon at Disneyland a castmember in Fantasyland noticed our "Just Married" buttons and asked us if there was a ride we hadn't yet been on. Confused by the question I said we 'had been on almost all of them' (since this was our second day) although now I'm pretty sure she meant that morning. Surprised she had responded with 'oh well you guys work fast!' and 'what ride would you like to go on again?' Still confused and wondering where this was going we had said that we hadn't been on Mr. Toads Wild Ride yet and she then had us follow her through the exit to cut the entire line! We were shocked, thankful, and felt slightly guilty- we had, after all cut a ton of families. Back in that chapter of our lives I had still never even heard of a "magical moment". That coined term I would learn only in these past few years, and yet we were still given that moment.
The moments I will be writing about this morning, while they may not be Disney related, are still magical.
They are the moments when the sun is just hanging below the horizon working to break through at 4:45 in the morning; when the city or town is quiet and sleepy and peace just hangs heavily in the air.
They are the moments when it so late in the evening (or early enough in the morning to still be considered "evening") when the only things awake to keep you company are the night animals like owls in the sky or predators in the fields or forests. For a town this hour comes earlier in the night around 10 or 11 when the darkness is thick. For a city this hour could be more in the morning like 2 or 3 after all the parties have ended and everyone has ended their busy days. No matter what hour it comes, the outcome is the same. The roads are empty, the street lamps are lit, and the world feels entirely yours for j u s t...t h a t...m o m e n t...
They could even be the moments that don't have an hour to a day but seem so planned that they just fit there in your life. Like a feeling or thought to proceed somewhere, a seemingly spontaneous event, when you've learned something new or figured out a problem thats been weighing on you for some time, or even something as simple as doing what you love to do, even more so if you've forgotten how much you enjoyed doing it.
Usually these moments are accompanied by feelings of great peace and true happiness and are the moments we strive to have in our lives constantly, and that we crave more of but come only when it is 'its' time to shine.
Heres the twist: these magical moments aren't always positive. These moments are full of the great and marvelous, the simple and subtle, and even the challenging and tempting. The secret is knowing that everthing good and bad comes at a time when you need it. For those moments difficult or challenging it can be hard to see or even to agree with that last sentence. I know that if I had read this blog post a year ago I would have bitterly laughed at it and stopped reading right there, insisting that it wasn't helpful and a waste of time. And that would have been okay because that wouldn't have been the time for that to speak out to me. I've learned to not hang out on the stubbornly persistant idea that everything I see, touch or hear has to be right, truthful, meaningful, or perfect. Sometimes it's just not my time to share in that moment.
As I've been learning this concept and becoming comfortable in it I had a moment with a new friend of mine. She probably didn't even realize how impactful it was for me in that time, since it was said in passing without any weight to it, but it was one of those magical moments where everything clicked for me. She had asked me if I wanted to borrow a book that I knew she had been working on reading. Surprised that she had finished it that fast I had asked her if that meant she was finished with it. Her reply: "No, but I've read what I've needed and I'm feeling really good in the place I'm at right now." Completly caught off gaurd by this genuine moment I stumbled with a reply that went something like, "oh that's okay. I'm not ready to read it right now," and then I we said our goodbyes and I drove home. Her sentence keeps coming back to me over and over when I'm presented with a decision to make or I feel frustrated that I can't seem to finish "that one thing". Maybe I'm so focused on finishing that I didn't even realize that I had already gotten my fill and needed to just move on.
Along this same mindset I've been looking into minimalism-I really liked this post by Danielle Faust. I've read quite a few blogs but have encorporated the thinking of "what is enough?" into even what I've been saving on Pinterest. Sometimes I read a blog and I like it so much that I save it or want to save it to "read for later"and then never read it again or at all. I've told myself that if I didn't have enough time to read it then then it wasn't the right moment and that I will be able to find what I need when the moment does arise. Because we have a ton of internet space devoted to knowledge and opinion I will be able to find what I need when I need it the most. Although pintrest posts are not taking up physical space it's still taking up mental space, which is the most important space I have and physical space can also take a part in how sane you are in your mental space (cue in minimalistic thinking). My goal is to take everything that I have or that comes to me in either of those spaces and asking myself that question, "what is enough?" and keeping what I will use over and over or that will keep me from a being a complete disaster later (72 hour kits and other prepardness methods), leaving behind what I only needed in that moment, and not kicking myself for the past decisions or mistakes I've made but using them to my advantage and just keep going.
To close my thoughts -that could probably run forever- I've learned in this part of my journey to not get stuck in the moments I want to be having or wish I was having or even the moments that I once had, but to enjoy many more moments whether they be challenging or rewarding because every moment is a blessing. Thank you to all those who have and continue to be blessings in my life and help me discover the magic in every moment.
Love to all.
-Megan
