Chapoquoit, June 15, 2019
The Moment
Heraclitus, A Greek philosopher from around 500 BCE, famously observed that no man can step in the same river twice, which was to emphasize his perspective that life is all about constant change. Whether we accept change as a good thing, or long for the day when change will no longer disrupt our lives (tip: that day will come; it’s called dying) we are always looking for ways to face its reality.
This is my friend, Stephen, walking into the surf with his foil and his kite. Just yesterday, Stephen was telling me one of the best things about kiting is that it forces him to live in the moment. When he's up in the air, with the more expansive view it provides him, he can glimpse a freedom that escapes him in ordinary times. He isn't dwelling on the worries of earlier in the day, nor is he fretting the future. He's just flying over the waves with a keen awareness that life is happening to him right then, and he is fully aware of it; he is part of the process, not just an observer. I envy the experience (but not enough to tie myself to a big kite). I experience moments by freezing them with a camera, which, I’ll admit, is not as exhilarating as flying.
The point is, I think, that we all confront the ideas of moments and change in our own way because we have to. We have to because the pace of change is so disorienting, and it seems to only get faster as we age. We want to grab on to every moment, at least every good one, and not let it slip away from us like all the others did before, but we can’t, and we’re left with fading memories and dreams for the future. But I agree with Stephen, I love the times when I am aware that I am living a notable moment right then. I love those moments that confirm what I spend so much time only suspecting: I am alive!
Photographing Stephen walking into the water with his kite made me think of our conversation yesterday, and I smiled knowing that he was going out to steal another moment from the universe and make it his own. Savor each one, my friend.
Monte