The Lounge Chair of Timeless Oblivion

There are moments in life of such clarity and peace that they should be documented–because they define you and they will help you learn who you are and more important: who you’d like to be.

You know when they happen because you tend to smile secretly, maybe not with your lips, but at  least in your mind. You might get goosebumps or maybe butterflies. A slight warmth that runs up from your belly to your throat. You might just exhale lightly and your shoulders drop just an inch as your guard is let down. You don’t need to be religious or spiritual, but the moments might be classified as religious or spiritual.

What does this mean for you? Is it the whole umbrella-in-cocktail-by-the-pool? Standing on top of tallest peak? Baby in crib breathing softly? Wife doing something that reminds you why you fell in love? Holding hands with your son? For me, it’s many places, it’s where I lose track of time, where everything around me disappears. For some reason, it’s often in a moving vehicle. It’s often an old vehicle. It’s where I’m myself. Not just myself, but the self I long to be.

I feel the need to document my LCTOs to see how they shape me. When am I at my height? My best? My potential? What am I doing right, how did I get there and can I repeat it?

Below are triggers which may help you identify such events. There are no hard and fast rules, but as defined by rare or special or unique, they’re not abundant or common or everyday. For me, I want the moment to meet all three “requirements.” For example, I’m comfortable when I sit in a cozy chair, but not every moment is timeless. A scene might stand still in time, but it’s not strong enough to remove all other elements of my environment. Finally, I might be a state of oblivion, but it’s not something I even want to be timeless and/or I’m not in a comfortable setting.

Do you recognize your moments in the Lounge Chair of Timeless Oblivion? Do you remember or document them? How can you achieve them again?

Lounge Chair

I’m relaxed, I’m comfortable, I don’t need to exert energy to continue. It’s also my favorite place to be at that time. I don’t want to move.

Timeless

Time stands still. They are the moments that I take a mental photograph of. Maybe I watch too many movies, but it’s often the time when there’s a photo of myself and the scene and then it zooms out to above me from the perspective of someone standing near me to the angle a bird might have in the sky. It brings the moment into perspective, then takes a snapshot from the different distances as if to document the varying frames of reference.

Oblivion

Everything else is extraneous. I don’t notice it. I’m barely aware of it. I am so focused on your current moment that nothing can penetrate my shield. It’s all about this moment and nothing can disrupt you.

Timeless moments of bliss, peace, and you. What are yours? (Top of Heavenly in Lake Tahoe.)