Extend the Moment. Live Longer.
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Driving down Valley Mills Road early in the morning, after leaving a 7:00 a.m. Rotary meeting because of missing the previous day’s meeting, thoughts raced around the speedway of my mind. There was so much to do and so little time to do it all. And “all” was what most of us want to do each day. We have forgotten to leave a little for the next day. We have forgotten Hewingway’s lesson when he left a story incomplete in a day’s writing so that the next day he had someplace to start the process of creating a new day’s work. Driving down Valley Mills Road, I determined that I would see, record and marvel at the sight of Lake Waco. There had been so many days when that same resolution had been made and I was surprised when I realized that I had missed the whole wondrous scene, thinking about a telephone call which had to be made, or a deposit in the bank, or a chore that just had to completed in the next fraction of a second. This time I was determined that I would see and enjoy. Going down the hill, I received glimpses of the smooth waters through the trees. Then the scene opened as I got to the lake shore. Finally, it spread before me: a simple scene of blue sky, glass-like lake water, the Spring-filled trees and bushes, and another hill to climb with my Ford chariot. The moment was held as long as it could be held. It was extended in time by the joy of the scene. The serene horizontal of far off shore, the water that danced with light and soft color filled my being. I had done it. I had captured the moment. The fast pace of modern living had not won the day. Light, color, water, sky, green-green and rocks were all that existed. It is the same struggle that was depicted in the recent movie, “Star Trek: Insurrection”. A major theme centered around a battle against those who would cast out innocence, art and fulfilled-living and those who held these attributes close to the heart. The 300-year-old beauty showed Captain Pecard how to extend the moment by blowing pollen from a flower. The star-like golden specks gleaned in the sun’s light in slow movement. Pecard, a man of the future (our future of technology and swift action) was forced to slow his glaze to a shuffled pace. Lake Waco was on the way again. I had to rush to Kinko’s to get something reproduced quickly. That is what Kinko’s was created to do, to speed up our office work. Again, it was a struggle to forget my hectic job for a moment. I had to say, “Work does not exist. Work does not exist.” And for the moment coming over the crest of the hill, diving into the green blue of the lake and the magnificent Texas sky, work disappeared. Isn’t that what all of us wish to do? To live longer. Not in years, but in the extension of the moment. It is not the length of our lives that counts but how we use each precious moment and extend those moments. Lake Waco is a wonderful place for extended moments. Modern life does not allow long periods of slow contemplation, but when we can have them they are the joy of living. We can truly see, hear, feel, enjoy and learn. It reminds me of the story of the beggar in an India market. He was starving. All day, day after day, he begged for money. A kindly merchant watched this drama for a week. Finally, he gave the beggar money and told him to buy himself some food so that his life would be prolonged. The beggar thanked the merchant and took half the money and bought food. With the other half, he bought a flower. The merchant was angry. He had not given the man money to throw away. “Why have you bought that flower?” asked the irate merchant. The humble beggar answered, “Half your money will keep me alive for half a day. Holding the flower in my hand while I eat makes life worth living”. Lake Waco is this beggar’s flower. |
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