“A moment of impact has potential for change—it has ripple effects far beyond what we could predict. Sending some particles crashing together, making them closer than before while sending others spinning off into great adventures landing where you’d never thought you’d find them. You see, that’s the thing about moments like these, you can’t, no matter how hard you try, control how they’re going to affect you. You just got to let the colliding particles land where they may, and wait until the next collision.” The Vow.
Goodness I feel like I think about this all the time, but have you ever thought about how each moment impacts the next. How if I wouldn't have said this then that wouldn't have happened? Of course, this applies to both positive and negative experiences; I know without a doubt I've found myself asking why somethings had to happen especially with decisions I've made because of emotions that I didn't understand at the time. Think about it.... We grow up collecting memory after memory slowly but surely only holding onto the most important as time passes and memory is lost. Then as time goes on small things happen that bring these pieces all back together for a second... Just for that second we remember as if it was yesterday. Sometimes that moment brings us to tears, shame, or a smile.... Isn't that beautiful? What a marvelous thing it is to be impacted by people. Music is a huge connection for me when it comes to these moments where I've taken the lyrics or the instruments and the way they play together and connect them with a moment somehow. Months go by and I'll find myself going through a shuffle of songs and all of the sudden I remember everything again connected to this song. Moments mean a lot to me, and so do people. At some point in my life I took all of this for granted and I wish I could take back how much I lost at the time because of that. All those times I could have spent time with friends or family and be a part of everything while family life was easier when it came to staying in touch, but I didn't, instead I was caught up with things that didn't matter as much because of an unfortunate circumstance. I see quotes along these lines all the time all over social media exposing how they've now come to understand how important life is and they see things differently yada yada.... But what comes after? What comes after seeing what needs to happen? I see the quote... And I think it's wonderful, but where is the change? Do you actually kindle that fire that needs stoking? I've probably been told this my entire life, but it's the truth, one does not truly know what they have until it's gone or changes... And that's when it becomes a memory... A memory that was either spent with complete attention or was lost to something else that was at the time more important and is now a memory of regret... Who knows, it might not even be a memory at all, but it might be a memory for someone else. Do you realize that there are a lot of things done that we don't notice but end up becoming a moment of impact for someone else; it's those memories of something done by someone else that I truly believe are the ones that we remember the most vividly..... that's huge! Why are we dropping the ball on actually being presently with the people in our lives then? My moment came last fall, my eyes were opened bit by bit with specific events, but one of them came in the middle of the night. I had just fallen asleep under the stars really confused as to where I was suppose to start a new life. At 4:00 in the morning I was woken up suddenly and I literally flew out of my sleeping bag. It was cold out and I couldn't see anything, but I felt around for my journal and a pen and I frantically wrote out what I had felt and what I needed to do... The moment we open our eyes to the people and the things that are happening around us is a beautiful thing. Next time you talk to someone, I encourage you to look them directly in the eyes and truly listen, not just with your head, but with your heart. People have a connection between their eyes and their heart and a lot goes unnoticed because we get so caught up in moving from one thing to the next to even notice. Slow down. Care about what they have to say. Don't worry about whether or not you can answer them, your reaction, or keeping emotions beneath the surface. These moments happen everyday, don't miss them by closing your eyes to what's going on. Are you going to be a part of impact, or part of the memory?
