Posted by Gwyn MacDonald

I just had a lovely moment.

I was walking back to my house after visiting Fante’s in the Italian Market. A fabulous cooking/baking supply store, it also has a small coffee bar with one of those iced drink machines that is filled with the most amazing cappuccino granita!!!! It is so amazing that one (a.k.a. me) must be careful not to stop by everyday just to make sure the recipe has not changed… ha!

As I was strolling home, sipping my afternoon treat I was gazing up at the super blue sky and all of the fluffy, glowing white clouds and I realized… it’s so QUIET! For a minute, maybe two, no cars passed by, no compressor noise from the new houses being built across the street, no forklifts hauling wares back and forth. Just the sky and a mild breeze and a pigeon floating down from it’s perch on a near by rooftop. Now it wasn’t silent… the compressors from the giant butcher shop were running and I could hear the hustle and bustle from the market half a block down. But there was a quiet stillness, just for those few moments. I stood and watched the clouds morph and glide into a new configuration and smiled deeply. Then a car pulled out of a parking lot and some folks walked by and the moment had passed. But I was so glad I caught it!

I have this quote from Zen teacher Katagiri Roshi that I keep on my shelf of special things, “Every moment is enormous and it is all we have”. Just moments, lots and lots of them, but really just moments. Remembering to be aware and open to them, paying attention even when they aren’t as sweet as the one above, that’s the key!

P.S. Add this little moment to your musical playlist: Evan Lurie “Selling Water By the Side of the River”. Lovely album! And there is a song called “Moment”. It’s 51 seconds long and it’s gorgeous.