Often I am left shaking my head and wondering what exactly people were thinking before they said or did something that, seemingly, with a moment of pause, could have avoided so much pain, embarrassment or mocking. What was that YouTube "star" thinking when he cemented his head inside of a microwave? Seriously?
I know, it's ironic that a guy that has jumped off of a racing station wagon and stepped across a gap between buildings twenty or so stories up would ask what people were thinking prior to doing something stupid. I get that. And I guess that is, maybe, the point.
In the moment before, those few precious seconds before committing to a course of action, are we thinking straight? I can only speak for myself of course...I would never encase my head in cement for a few YouTube likes. But maybe this mental midget thinks I'm completely whacked for my contributions to the "why am I still alive" file. I was looking for other things. In the case of the station wagon, I was choosing the lesser of two evils in my mind and in a split second decision. My Spider-man act was to shock my buddy, partly, but mostly to see if I could do it. Risk takers unite! So yes, I was thinking straight...and I'm alive to talk about it.
Which brings us to why women live longer than men. We of the hairier sex are really that stupid sometimes. The 'hold my beer, I want to try something" moments are well documented and circulated to deny the existence of the vortex of stupidity that we seem to thrive in. Some are legit forays to full-fill the need for thrills and speed; sky diving, crotch rocket racing and so many more, with quasi rules and expectations of living through the event. Others are quite literally simply Darwin's theory in practice, writ large. You don't often see women building ramps off of roofs to try and jump over pools on their bikes or on roller blades now do you? Seriously, why do you women even like us?
I like the imagery around the line "in the moment before". The deep breath before the plunge. The pause for gravitas prior to stepping into the light. I remember when we were working on opening our B & B 22 years ago. We were fully committed at this point, both financially and emotionally, but there was a moment just before the excavator took it's first bite out of the earth, as it rumbled up the driveway to begin the transformation of our land, that it seemed to be something happening to someone else. Surely this yellow behemoth isn't here for anything to do with us. It is here for us...what the hell are we doing? I was a little panicked at the largeness of what we were trying to accomplish...who the hell were we to think we could undertake such a project? All in the moment before. And months later, with the finishing touches being applied, the project complete as we closed the door on each room satisfied with the accomplishment, ever so thankful for all the hard work and effort from family and friends we arrived at the next moment before.
And here in lies the lesson. Our lives are full of moments just before. The moment before the first kiss. The moment before the sip of wine. The moment before the first word. Are we being in the moment to see, to appreciate and to understand the thing as it unfolds before us? With this whole getting older thing I can appreciate more deeply and often the importance and beauty of these events that are happening all around me and to me. One of the gifts for the privilege of growing old I suppose and we can all probably work a little more to be fully in that moment before and every moment after.
And on to the next moment...
Ciao
D
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