Capturing the pleasure of a moment.

It’s too easy to go through the motions. Of living. That’s why I often stop. To ponder. To remind myself. That I’m actually alive. Free to think. All sorts of thoughts.  I wonder. If sometimes. I’m unaware. That I’m living. That happens rarely now. But when I was younger. Maybe it happened. A bit too often.  Days would almost disappear. From my memory. Because I was going through the motions. I wasn’t being properly stimulated.  I was thinking this. Yesterday. When visiting my Alzheimer-riddled friend Ron. When arriving at the nursing home. I announced, “I’m here to take Ron for a walk…and to stimulate his mind.’  And so that’s what I did. We walked. And I mostly talked. Initially. A monologue. About any and everything. To determine.  If Ron had something equivalent to a light switch. Embedded. In his head. And sure enough.  Ron seemed to consciously recognize that the sky is blue. Because I told him so. And to prove it. I pointed. To the sky. Ron could see, too. Looking for himself. And I asked Ron. To imagine. Floating. Floating. On a lonely cloud. Feeling. Feeling. Being alive. If only for a precious moment. That seems like forever. Yes. Yes. Ron can still capture the pleasure of a moment. Even if it too quickly fades away. –Jim Broede