Moments

We've all had them.  They're familiar to us, we recognize them when we're in "the moment".  Some refer to them as the "ahhh moments" of our life, which I believe sums the feeling up perfectly.  More objectively maybe, moments of clarity, greater understanding, perfection, realization.  Without being a poet, these moments in our lives are difficult to explain to one another, however we all know them.

Recently I've come to believe that, at least for me, these "ahhh moments" are the voice of God talking to me in a quiet and deeply personal way, urging me to live in the moment that he has provided for me, sharing it with him.  God has cleared away life's distractions so that I can exist in this very moment of time, where objects, actions and ideas suddenly become clear and understood.

It has taken me 47 years to come to this point of understanding, but looking back I can see similar moments of perfection and peace where the hand of God was fully present in my life. 

 More lists:

• A rainy Sunday afternoon exploring the streets of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• Down in the aerobars, hammering along the sun-scorched roads near Homestead, Florida.  A seemingly unending reservoir of power and strength in my legs.
• My first taste of Laphroaig. 
• Browsing the stacks of a Tampa bookstore and out of no where experiencing my first glimpse (kensho) of understanding the Zen Buddhist concept of "nothingness".  It dropped me to my knees and made me laugh out loud.
• An afternoon meal at La Mar restaurant in Lima, Peru.
• Looking a young Haitian boy in the eyes as he struggles with his crutches. He smiles at me.
• Walking through the dripping jungle directly underneath the massive Iguazu waterfall.
• Coming off the open ramp of a C-130 in the middle of the night with a few hundred pounds of stuff strapped all over me.  Following the "chem lights" down into the darkness.
• A train ride across the Australian Outback at sunset; in an observation car drinking beer with 20 other warriors watching to world clack by.  Someone put on Johnny Cash singing, "I've Been Everywhere".
• An early morning walk in the Maine woods after a snowstorm.  Peace.
• A 16" Brown Trout rising in a misty, morning stream to take a perfectly placed dry fly.
• A recent five days
• My father's laugh
• Standing in the middle of Chile's,  Salar de Atacama on an indigo evening listening to the blood rushing through my ears. A single star, then… breathtaking.