Sacred Moments

Two perhaps three times, I was sure I would touch the essence and I would know.  I was sitting immobile with watery eyes, I felt my backbone fill with quiet certitude.  Earth stood still, heaven stood still, my immobility was nearly perfect.  If it happens to me once more, I shall be moved neither by the postman's bell nor by the shouting of angels.  I shall sit immobile, my eyes fixed upon the heart of things.  

ZBIGNIEW HERBERT
(trans Czeslaw Milosz)
Revelation


Magical moments come unannounced.  If we do not embrace them at the very moment, we may never recapture them again or worse yet, never recognize them at all.

Inspiration appears in the face of a newborn, the sun gently setting,  or a star streaking across the sky.  Insight awakens as we whisper a prayer or sit quietly in meditation.  Others find total connection with Divinity as they stretch into a yoga pose or slip in the the runner's "zone". 

When sacred awareness arrives unannounced, the mysterious essence sinks deeply within, while the moment itself disappears as swiftly as the brush of a butterfly wing!  If we neglect to carefully stay in the moment, the experience can be overlooked entirely.  It is as though a sheer veil is slightly pulled aside for us to glimpse into another world, and when the veil gently falls back into place, we question what tricks our imaginations have played upon us.

Since we so readily dismiss these experiences with details falling to the way side, it is a good practice to keep a journal just for these special moments.  Then on particularly challenging days, we can be reminded of the sacred moments when wisdom came our way.