This was taken in 2005 at a local pond with my friends while having a picnic, plenty of food and games. It is scenes like this that I wish I could know what people were thinking about. I wonder if my friend was having an awareness of her part in the universe, or was she remembering a choice made in the past she would like to change or was she dreaming of a future moment yet to come.
“I could have. What does this phrase mean? At any given moment in our lives, there are certain things that could have happened but, didn’t. The magic moments go unrecognized, and then suddenly, the hand of destiny changes everything.” Paulo Coelho.
6 Comments
Earl
For me the Paulo Coelho quote sounds a bit like “Monday-morning-quarterbacking.” There’s many past events where I would now probably make a different life choice or recognize a moment, a decision or an event as being more important than I did at the time. Those different choices would have changed my life but would they have made it better? Who’s to say things didn’t unfold exactly the way they were suppose to leading me to exactly the correct path for me…bringing me exactly to the point I’m at? Just some of my “raw” thoughts. 🙂
Monte Stevens
Sorry, I missed these two comments. I think I’ve moved on to Tuesday mornings and don’t spend as much time on Mondays. I hope that subconsciously I make choices today based on past choices. Hopefully I will not repeat and repeat and ….
Tom Dills
First of all, beautiful moment captured photographically. I think we could all ascribe our individual stories to such a scene, although yours does just fine for me!
The quote is a good one, as it reminds us to use the lessons of the past to guide our decisions in the present and the future. As Earl says, the decisions we have already made have led us to where we are, but the lessons from those decisions – right or wrong, positive or negative – allow us to see a clearer path going forward.
A local liquor store manager/part time philosopher writes a weekly email in which he “rants” about one thing or another. This week he was writing about making the decision to stop saying “no,” that saying “yes” leads to new experiences and opportunities.
From Keith Haze:
“I think saying yes remains an incredibly underrated activity. We all bring our history to every situation and the temptation to find the familiar is strong. I don’t think there is anything wrong with that urge unless it becomes crippling. If what you are used to is blank and then you can only have blank, then you have handcuffed yourself. I only drink this brand, this way, in this situation etc. But now you are in a different place, with a different brand, so what are you going to do now? Are you going to cry about it? You could go eat worms, kick rocks etc or you could adapt! None of us are still eating Gerber food, and if you are please stop! We don’t want our birthdays at Chucky Cheese anymore. We all have these amazing opportunities to grow, learn, and expand, and we have them every single day. We can meet new people who each come with their own ideas, we can go to new places, we can do the unexpected! The risk is so small and the reward is so big!”
Monte Stevens
The decisions of the past set us in a place to make the decisions of the present moment or as you sa, “…allow us to see a clearer path going forward.” Thanks, my friend.
Cedric
That is a lovely photo Monte. It captures the feeling of being connected, or even of simply being, which for me, is most easily felt at that time of day. But I must say that even during such a moment, I tend to spend little time thinking of the future, even less reminiscing (traits my wife thinks I could do without 😉 ). And if I fail to recognise a magic moment then there is no way for me to know of my failure and in my ignorance I remain as the moment finds me. At any given moment of my life, I always consider that whatever is happening is the only thing that could be happening. Perhaps I am a fool but seeing moments in this way provides much comfort and a genuine sense of freedom with no regrets or need for self-deprecation. And as I tell my wife, doesn’t watching a sunset from our home balcony provide the same magic moment as watching a sunset from, say, Azenhas do Mar or Cinque Terre or the top of Haleakalā? Needless to say that she doesn’t see things quite the same way LOL
Monte Stevens
You’re right on, Cedric. I strive to stay in the moment but I’ve not reached that point in my life. The mind still goes to the past and present. However, I would like to know what someone is thinking. And, I love seeing these moments.