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| What Are The Moments You Live For? |
| Posted by Khiem in: Articles, Wandering Thoughts |
What do you do when you are so high on life that people can’t understand you?
What do you do when you see beauty in every moment that you breathe?
What do you do when you see beauty in every person you meet but they don’t see it in themselves?
Which moments do you consider worth living?
Are you so oblivious to those moments that you let them pass you by as if they never existed?
I love what I do. I love the people I meet. I love life.
Yesterday, I was at a friend’s party. The location was gorgeous. Imagine a mansion hanging on a cliff overlooking Santa Monica beach. The house is filled with flowers. Beautiful people are mingling around in the patio.
The men are all successful. Some of them are millionaires. They carried a certain confident and comfortable energy with them. The women are all wearing sun dresses. They walked with that sexy feminity that would make any guy look twice.
And there it was… a little garden that only had one wooden bench in the middle of it.
I walked there and sat down by myself. I looked out. I breathed in the moment.
If I didn’t step away from the beautiful crowd, I would have missed it.
As I looked out, I saw something magical. I saw that magical moment when the sun kissed the horizon in a red hot passionate embrace.
When you let that moment sip in through you, when you connect to your own emotions, when you allow yourself to be grounded, you start feeling something you can’t describe in words.
Peace? Love? God?
I smiled.
A 42 year-old man I talked to earlier came up to me.
Why are you here, sitting by yourself?
I asked him to sit with me and I pointed to the horizon. He understood.
Then he asked me a question he asked me before:
Why are you here, at this party?
I didn’t know it… but I found out at some point that the party was actually a matchmaking party. These beautiful men and these beautiful women were put together in this breathtaking setting to find one another.
I obviously wasn’t looking for “the one”. I was just “there”.
I told him “Because I was invited”.
And then this 42-year old man and the 27-year old “kid” that I was started talking. We talked for a long time.
He opened up his life to me.
He talked to me about people. He talked to me about children. He talked to me about business.
I listened.
He talked to me about love. He talked to me about fears. He talked to me about life.
And I listened.
There is something magical when you share yourself to someone with unbridled openess. Man or woman, it doesn’t matter. When you listen intently, you connect. You connect on such a deep level that time and space disappear.
It’s just you and that person.
It’s those moments that I live for.
It’s those moments when you can drop your armor without fear and allow yourself to surrender your entire being to the other person.
Right then and there, I knew him. He knew me.
I felt connected to him as if I was him.
Would it sound gay if I said I felt “oneness” with a man?
He then asked:
What do you do when you unexpectedly meet a woman that you think might be “the one” but you meet her through the girl you are currently dating? What do you do when the girl you are currently dating happens to be the person who organized the party in the first place?
There was no right answer to his question but I told him:
You should always pursue the very things that makes you feel alive.
Before we left each other, he said:
Khiem, you have an aura about you. You have an aura that makes people feel very comfortable opening up to you.
I work for a marketing company. If I was CEO of my company right now, I would make you an offer to work for me. I work with companies that are very strict with their corporate culture. They tell you to forget everything and to only think about ideas, possibilities and results.
I would want you to help them realize that it’s all about people. It’s all about connections. I would want you to come hang, just as you are, so that my people could absorb some of your wisdom.
I didn’t know what to say. I was so very flattered.
Thanks.
I helped him put some boxes in his car and we parted ways.
As I drove down Sunset Blvd, I received a call from a number I didn’t recognize. I picked up.
Hey, it’s xxx again. Where are you headed? I don’t know why I’m calling you but I’d like to hang out with you a bit more. Can we meet somewhere right now?
So I went and met him.
Live in that moment. You don’t know where it will take you.
We talked some more… a lot more.
“What is the meaning of life?”
“I think the meaning of life is achieving self-awareness”
After some more thoughts, I added:
“The meaning of life is to realize that you have tremendous personal power within you, a power to impact and influence others more than you think.
Your beginning journey is to recognize that you have that power but then the real challenge becomes: can you learn to truly own that power?
Once you realize you have that power, can you use and handle that power responsibly? And THAT… takes a lifetime to learn.”
“So what is the meaning of YOUR life, Khiem?”
“To bring meaning to others (?)”
We sat there in silence, smiling at each other, enjoying the moment.
I was happy.
I wanted to share this with someone else but I felt a sudden sadness at the mere thought.
I knew, deep inside, some people wouldn’t understand…
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April 14th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
The most beautiful post I’ve ever read, Khiem. You really wrote well how you felt. Your writing is very touching, and deep.
You have a gift. It’s this aura about you that I can’t explain, it is silence, calm, beautiful energy about you that radiates. People can’t help it but get drawn towards you.
That’s a very nice view from the house
Did you use the flip to record it?
April 14th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
I was a little choked up after reading this post.
I seldomly forget to “stop and smell the roses.” You remind me that those little moments in life is what makes all this worth it. It’s a moment in time where everything is at peace and at its highest level of beauty.
I realized that people tend to stress themselves out when they don’t stop and breathe in what life has to offer them. I feel like a hypocrite saying this, just because I fall victim to the same thing at times, when things happen so fast that you forget to slow down and enjoy it.
April 14th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Thanks Yakub.
I always try to bring a little value through my writing.
It’s too bad I can’t see my own “radiant energy” but I’d like to believe that I embody a quiet strength
And yes, I used the Flip camera to record the view of the house.
Lex,
I love your comment. You should write more. You always have interesting to say but you never say it. Don’t think so much. Let those good thoughts out, man!
April 16th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Just reading this post put me in a great, positive state. Thanks.
I think it’s true that everyone gets caught in the hustle/bustle of modern life… but it’s taking these moments that makes life enjoyable, for sure.
Ever notice how on those nights that you “just go out for a minute” with your friends, you end up having the best time? It’s happened to me on several occasions… Now I’m thinking that it’s because we’re tapping into that energy which you wonderfully captured in this post.
Thanks again,
Alex
PS- ever read the articles on Zan’s site? http://www.enlightenedseduction.com . his style evokes similar emotional states in me.
April 16th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Hey Alex,
I always enjoy reading your comments.
I have read Zan’s website before. I really like his style and mindset. Every time I read his stuff, I feel very at peace.
What he teaches is really high level though and some people won’t get it… at least, not the newbie Pickup Artists because his material asks you to transcend into an “enlightened” man, instead of just looking for women to get laid.
Zan is just great. I believe he might hang out with David Wygant in Amsterdam sometimes in the next couple weeks.
April 17th, 2008 at 12:53 am
A very well thought out and thought provoking post, my friend totem. You seem to have a very good life view. Whenever you write about life and inner game, I always feel inspired to do something grand or something I have been wanting to do but haven’t yet. Many times, I actually do do something. Life’s just too short to be lonely.
April 18th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Khiem, I am so glad you invited me to read your post.
You are a wonderfully descriptive and soul-bearing writer. I connected with your words deeply. I just got back from an hour hike in the Arizona desert and had my magical moment on top of a hill surrounded by blooming cacti, rocks, red hills, birds and the glorious sun.
Life is an amazing gift and you are an amazing person who I am blessed to know.
April 19th, 2008 at 11:42 am
I’m one of those annoying people who can’t answer philosophical questions with a straightaway answer. I rather like the ALWAYS or the NEVER aspect– such finality. So, if asked, what are the moments, THE MOMENTS I live for, my answer would be, obviously, every day- every minute, every moment. (I guess I’m difficult like that) Plus I have a little theory… and some of my friends may have heard this before…it goes a little sumthin like this….
There are two ways to look at everything, every single thing, whether it be major problems, ethic issues, or choices, big and small. When faced with these tiny interruptions on life, one is able to take one (and only one) of two possible paths… one that might bring you happiness or one that will make you less happy. Be Happy. Do what it is that brings you the most joy within reason and on par with your beliefs. That way every day, every minute, you will be choosing your way, you will have chosen the greatest amount of happiness offered in that moment. That way, you should be having the greatest time… always. That way each night, you will have no regrets. And each night you will go to sleep with a genuine smile on your face knowing that today, you just had the best day of your life. Happiness, what a concept…
BUT, since I’m trying to answer a note with my own note, (thanks, Khiem) I will admit that certain specific moments in time do shine brighter than others. For me, the answer is love, to quote jack, ” love is the answer at least for most of the questions in my heart”. Make that Love with a capital L– but in having said that, I should stop, hehe… I see many of you already dry heaving.
I live for connections too. Physical, emotional, intellectual, and sometimes random connections. Whether it be complete strangers or with old friends. There are certain great moments, whether chatting with new friends over wine at a mansion party, or crying on the shoulder of a friend. The Oneness Khiem describes is a great connection. Like a battery and a charger, hehe, you have to be ready for insertion. (haha) Great connections require an openness and a spiritual readiness to be open to what life throws your way.
May 10th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Hi Khiem,
I told you how impressed I was with you when we met on Thursday, but after reading “What Are the Moments You Live For?”, I am completely blown away.
I’m a 60 year old woman who has, for the past 15 years, been teaching people to go inside and fall in love with themselves and with being alive, so I’ve been around the block a few times.
Trust me when I say you are as close to an enlightened being as I’ve ever met.
To be 28 and to have a true depth and grasp of what’s right and true… and to express yourself in such a way that others really “get” it… You are a gift and the planet needs you and whomever you inspire to walk in the path you are forging.
Thank you for sharing your light.
Blessings,
Kara