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In this Moment

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Front: Christopher Top: Nico in a photo shoot Nov 2013



April 2, 2014

I'm at a gas pump, pumping gas into my minivan. I became distracted by the wind as it rushed between the cars. The breeze glided across my face as if reaching out to grab my attention.

I look beyond the fuel pumps, rapidly climbing numbers as they tick off into the twenty-dollar range and climb toward the 50s. Some major oil company's liquid gold was dumped into my thirsty fuel tank. I follow the breeze's direction and give the area attention from which it came. I have become mesmerized by life; it's so beautiful outside right now. The sky is pale blue with touches of scarring, thin cirrus clouds scattered about the vast celestial sphere. The green trees are highlighted off god's canvas. At this moment, my life is refreshed.

I can feel the thump of the bass from the music playing next to me from a car's open window, but I do not mind what's happening. The little vibrations from the sound waves bring me peace more than the annoying sounds coming out of the window. I'm not that old yet to be complaining about today's music.

I think deeply as I zone out, hypnotized by the sunshine I see almost daily. How has it kept my attention for so long? This is the sunshine state, but I rarely appreciate days like this. When the days are cool and breezy. It's a rare treat that shouldn't go unnoticed, but it does.

Except for today because I noticed.

I know this is just a gas station; however, I have to take advantage of these moments to discover my existence. When I realize how lucky I am to witness a beautiful point in time in the most unlikely of places. I should respect Mother Nature's beautiful gift because these moments are futile. I could lose my perspective at the same time that she allowed me to observe life's God-given-ability to shrink my problems and enable me to realize that my issues could be worse inside our beautiful world.

In moments like this, I realize life is an amazing gift, and nearly everything in my sight has a time and place for why it's there. I appreciate that I can see the trees swaying when those blind can only imagine the beauty in the moving trees. I learned to love the music playing from the car stereo next to my gas pump because I can hear it, unlike someone deaf. I take in the smell of petrol following through into my gas tank, and I am thankful that I can use a sense that may be sterile for some.

If I narrow my view, I can see the plight around me. I know the person with a written sign begging for money. I observe the lady putting in three dollars and sixty-three cents of gas, precisely one gallon of gasoline, just to make it to work. I hear arguments around me about people's life troubles. But at this moment, I'd rather see us from afar. At this moment, I see us as equals in a world that has beauty and so much pain. I am alive to write to the world what I saw on this day. And in this moment, I can hope that, like I am now, all of us are going to be okay.

555 words




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