Reverb10 Prompt #3: “Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this yearâ€
But what does it mean to feel alive?
Does waking up in the morning and breathing count? Seems a bit mundane.
Is it the thump, thump, thump coming from your chest that tells you you’re alive?
Or is it the butterflies that start beating their wings in your stomach when you feel that rush, rush, rush of life?
Pick a moment? Just one? There are so many life-filled moments how do I choose? how do you choose?
My first response was dancing in the rain at the Massive Attack concert. The yellow lights from the LED installation pounding on the back of my eyelids, as the music swelled, and swelled, and swelled, felt like the drums were inside my chest. The crowd’s arms in the air, the screams, the celebration – we are all here together, sharing this moment…
That thought was followed quickly by the memory of the moment I got out of the car, rushed across the parking lot of the funeral home and hugged my Uncles for the first time in five years. Feelings of so much love, love, love. Their arms around me, holding my shuddering body, they didn’t have to say a word.
Then there was that moment just last week when I opened the recent issue of Vancouver Magazine and saw my Dots! Mini bowls pictured on the table of contents – my heart in my throat, the warmth starting to spread over my cheeks, I let out a “Wow-weeeeeeee!†then wandered around the drug store with a goofy grin on my face, no one there to share my news with, except the cashier: “Why are you buying so many copies of this magazine?â€
“Turn to page 30, those are my bowls!†he seemed happy for me.
There was also that moment, during the summer, at a party, on a neighbour’s balcony when the spicy-vanilla scent of Star Jasmine wafted over me and I was instantly transported back to June 6, 2003: Verona, Italy: 2,000 year old arena: seeing Bjork in concert for the very first time.
Then there were those stolen moments this morning: the blinds were still closed, the alarm had gone off, it was that time of day between sleeping and waking. Mark grabbed our Girls and put them in bed with me. Molly crawled under the covers, settled in right up against me, her head on the pillow next to mine and we spooned.
It was a wonderful way to wake up in the morning and breathe and feel alive.
nothing better than spooning. loved this post. and so happy to find your dots. awesome!
This is a great post! I’m really struggling with the question of feeling alive…felt sad that I couldn’t think of a single “wow” alive moment for the year. (Can think of those moments in my life, but they are from other years!) Either my memory’s going, or I’m not really LIVING. It’s given me a lot to think about. (I don’t blog, but am journaling privately and responding to #reverb10 on Twitter.)
Thank you Tracey! I’m so glad you like the Dots!
Kellye – that’s one thing I’m enjoying about reverb10, these prompts are really making me think. I gotta tell ya, seeing yours and Tracey’s comments here made the butterflies flutter for me. I hope reverb10 helps you see how YOU ARE LIVING! 🙂
Thank you both for your comments, they are much, much appreciated!
What a broad and beautiful range of aliveness…
I joined this group to challenge myself…challenge myself to get all of the prompts done and done on time. Your post, here, made me realize that it’s not about the challenge of “getting it all done”. It’s about living the life we are called to live. I appreciate, so much, how you touched upon more than one moment in your life, this past year, to show what being alive means.
Thank you for sharing and inspiring me to really think about these prompts for what they are…a way to reflect and grow.
Thank you MDTaz!
And thank you Diane! I really appreciate your kind words and thoughtful comment.