Moments… images through my head. No experience can teach you the value of freedom and the value of the world, the value of yourself, like the one of a backpack traveler.
The value of a moment is intensified, both in your eyes and in your heart. When you exit our usual repetitive system and enter the present moment, a new dimensions open up. From one end of the world to another, you are yourself, in a moment, in different spaces in time. You are all that you have; you, and this moment.
This realization instantly redefines life. You begin to magnify every instance of a smile, and hard times seem to get shorter, as they quickly get replaced by some new, exciting experience. The world is in a moment, the present never ends. And that’s the beauty of it…
… But it’s also the trap.
For what is life, but in a moment? The infinite lightness of being lies in the grasp of your hand, eternity in a glimpse of a smile. And that power, it is scary.
The temptation is strong, to give it all up and make it last: to become your own boat, your own storm, your own sunlight.
But you might also become your own island – in which case, you better not drown!
It’s a hard balance indeed, happiness. It is hard to reach, but also to define. In a book trying to define happiness, french psychiatrist Dr. Christophe Andre writes “I feel, I am conscious of my feeling, and I desire nothing more – yet at the same time, I know it will end“. It is all in this balance, this moment, and its permeability. And in order to be ready to experience it, you have to be ready to let it go. Otherwise: you’re trapped in the honeypot!
In another book called “The Happiness Trap”, Dr. Russ Harris explains how the illusion and desire of control we have over our feelings makes us lose this precious moment – notably by trying to make it last more than it would/should.
It can’t be ever lasting. It wont be. A traveler’s life will teach you that every trip will end… And yet Life must prevail. Knowledge of this ephemerality should not stop you from pursuing the ever lasting, meaningful journey, within you.
So take this moment. let it slip, like sand through you fingers, and as you hop on for the next adventure…
… never ever forget how it made you feel.
