Good a Moment Ago is Mediocre in the Face of a Luminous Now

Life is truly a gift.  It constantly amazes, with its pains and pleasures, and just when you think not, some event or person will arrive unannounced and unplanned for, like an angel in the night, altering its course forever.  When what was once good is exposed as mediocrity in the face of a luminous now, the magic of life is in full force.

I have heard the term “Watershed Moment”.  In the context of business, Andy Grove’s now famous “Inflexion Point” comes to mind.  But broken down in its most elementary form, it is simply witnessing, growing and learning from life’s subtleties … and being able to embrace its miracles when they arrive.  These miracles I speak of are things and/or feelings you knew not to exist beforehand.

While the above thoughts and principles can apply to almost any nuance of human existence, my preoccupation on these pages is the subject of love.  Or rather, how can one pinpoint such a “Watershed Moment” as it applies to matters of the heart?

My overriding belief is that one can never truly understand such a moment “praedestino” it occurs.  There are no words in the human language to describe, or prepare beforehand, for such a mystical occurrence.  To endeavor upon a description of love is by definition predestined to undermine its power.  It can be likened to scribing a one page summary of “War and Peace”.  Nevertheless, I am compelled to try.

The love described here is that of man and woman, multifaceted in its structure of physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual—the four being a prerequisite.  

It is the all encompassing warmth of lying in another’s arms with a complete understanding of mind, body and soul in unison.  The phenomena of looking outward in the same direction.  The joy of sharing another’s accomplishments and in turn having one bear witness your own proudest days.  The security of another to hold you tight when a smooth road turns rocky or encourage when a steep hill becomes steeper.  The paradox of cherishing the individual across the dining room table, yet knowing both at the table form a greater one.  The willingness to love and capacity to be loved, as if the sun were warming you on both sides at once.

But if I could offer just one answer in regard to pinpointing true love, it would go something like this:

It is the unexpected shift from searching for the right person to being the right person for who you have found.