A brief interlude in the collection of delights, or moments. When I started my collection of things that brighten my day, I did so with the plan that I wouldn’t store them up: I would write about a particular moment, on a particular day. I wanted these to reveal themselves to me, and in their realism, I would (hopefully) spot them, and write about them.
So what’s wrong with November 15? Where is my moment? Don’t get me wrong, it’s not been a bad day. It’s been fine. Got some work done, did the school run home, cooked tea, that kind of stuff. Fairly like other days. But I do know you can end up second guessing yourself in trying to identify when a moment is…well, a Moment.
Thing was, yesterday, I felt like I had several other experiences which would have done just as well. Getting off a bus, late into the evening, and seeing the trees nearby in the streetlight. All of a sudden, in that particular glow, they seemed hyperreal, as though being 3D wasn’t enough. They seemed to project across the street, in the way of 3D films. (And no, it wasn’t to do with what I had eaten or drunk.)
Equally, heading out earlier, seeing the streetlight through a slightly rainy haze, you could see the starlight effect, like those special camera lenses that make a camera flame look like a star. And I’m sure there was another, only now it’s gone. I guess part of the value of capturing these moments is in being able to remember them, reflect on them later, draw comfort from doing so at other times.
Part of the notion is also, that if there’s a special moment in a day, it lifts it. That you only need one moment a day to turn a day around. Isn’t three or four a bit greedy? But in those big experiences like holidays, or the beginnings of a relationship, or any other intense experience where we see it all through new eyes, we get multiple moments. And we can get hungry for that rush, that saturation of experiences all tangled up together.
The truth is, meals need to be cooked. Work needs to be done. Carpets need hoovered from time to time. There is far more repeat in the everyday, and while that’s sometimes frustrating, it can be comforting too. So one new moment – like sighting the first star in the sky – can be enough to lift our heads.
And if there isn’t one today? Look back at the list. There will be more moments. The last 14 days is proof.