holding onto threads.

Sometimes something I read, or see or hear, makes me see past all the petty things that usually occupy my head and for a fleeting second everything seems startlingly clear.

It's normally just little things, like a line in a song, or a story someone tells me that might usually seem insignificant but for some reason has a huge impact at the time. This week the thing that triggered my thinking about all this was an interview with neurosurgeon Charlie Teo on ABC. He said something about death that really stuck with me..basically that everyone thinks it must be so morose and depressing to constantly be in the company of the dying but that for him it has the effect of perpetually reminding him to appreciate life and not get caught up in worrying about little things. I've heard that sort of thing said about a million times but for some reason this week it just really stood out.

The thing is, with these sort of moments of clarity, for me at least, is that they're always so transient. Within seconds, maybe minutes if you're lucky, all the other thoughts come crowding back and you forget that feeling of clarity just as quickly as you felt it.

I wonder if making a conscious effort to hold onto it makes any difference. I'm going to try and see.


[I don't know why, but I always like seeing this Eternity sign on my inevitably late trips home from the Gong on weekends so one night I stopped and took a photo. It just makes me happy.)