There seems to be a category of moments that brings a tear of joy to my eye. I call that category of moments, “breakthrough moments.” They are the moments when unconsciously my guard drops; I see through the guarded way I approach the everyday. I drop my unconscious pattern of using simple labels to categorize instead of experience. I see beyond my propensity to label, and I realize I create labels to insulate, to generalize, to disarm the thisness of the moment..
As I slip into a breakthrough moment I am completely here and now; time slows and at least my sense of time becomes fuller. There are two classical Greek terms used to describe “time” of which I am aware: Kronos which is quantitative, a “measured time” like on a clock or watch; and kairos which is qualitative, “an opportune time.” I’ve always heard kairos described as the “fullness” of time. Today, for instance, I was looking out the window as a breeze was dancing with the leaves of a tree. For a moment, there was just this tree dancing and I was there in the moment, in the dance.
I was caught up, transported beyond the mundane and yet still right where I had been. That moment, life seemed strangely more significant, more connected. This is not my all-the-time experience of life; I would even say that this way of experiencing life is rare and unpredictable. When those breakthrough moments happen for me, I am overcome and touched and opened.
Learning from This. When I label time “mundane,” I am describing my experience of it. I am beginning to suspect there is no such thing as mundane time; perhaps my capacity to experience the moments as more than mundane is something that will grow as I attend to it. To be fully present is to experience this moment in fullness. Breakthrough moments- this sunset, this sunrise, this passing cloud, this kiss, this hug, this smile, this tree, this wildflower, this blueberry, etc.- are the ones that bring a tear of joy to my eye.
Infinitely Precious 