Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Thoughtful Thursday

About one thousand years ago, when I was writing a term paper for Jurrasic U, I had an experience somewhere between a meltdown and an epiphany. A meldiphany, as it were.

It all revolved around the word "the".

I had typed this word so often for my paper, I began to actually question if I was spelling it correctly. Because on paper, it was starting to look weird. Seriously.

In retrospect, this event was the genesis, albeit extremely tenuous (and more than a little mentally unstable), of my love of parsing words & phrases.

Nothing thrills me more that to have something so simple, so fundamental - something so taken for granted - slap me upside the head to take another look.

So when I read a mini-review of Martin Boroson's "One-Moment Meditation: Stillness for People on the Go", in a recent Body + Soul magazine, I got that flutter of excitement.

Because, hey. I am a People on the Go. And I may be going out on a limb here, but I think you might be, too.

His book speaks of taking, well, a moment. A time to stop and breathe, to recognize, and to make the most out of 'lost moments' we dismiss as a waste of time:

"Most of the time, we fail to realize the enormous potential of a moment. Perhaps this is because we think of a moment as a very short amount of time - just a few seconds - and therefore rather negligible. But the word 'moment' actually comes from a Latin word that means 'a particle sufficient to turn the scales'. In other words, a moment can be revolutionary. It can turn your life around. A moment is, by its very nature, momentous."

That one little particle can sufficiently turn your life around. Wow.

The possibilities that lie in that small Latin-rooted word are spectacular.

Moment.

Temporis Punctum.

In Corpus + Anima, Veritas.

3 comments:

Jurgen Nation said...

I so wish I had something more articulate and profound to say, but alas, alas, I have nothing but a WOW. Thank you for posting this. I am going to print it and keep a copy at home AND at work. How easily we forget how to live with peace and happiness (and snark, because really, you know even Buddha snarked once in a while).

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

Thank you. Now I have proof that I should not spend the entire day cleaning the __________ (fill in the blank with any room, drawer, closet or plumbing fixture of your choice).

I'll be making the most of my moments, which right now includes sipping coffee and staring off blankly out the window and down the creek. It's a glorious moment.

Shelley said...

Countess JN: I hear, in fact, that Buddha was actually quite a miserable s.o.b. until his first coffee of the day. More validation for me. As for you, missy - enjoy your moments - I think that by enpowering many, you have the potential of some truly karmic ones!

Countess CBW: You CLEAN your plumbing fixtures? Yikes - OCD much? I just do a brief dusting and call it a day...

Your coffee and vista moment sounds just heavenly. Sigh. Glorious sigh.

 
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