Your Greatest Moment--a question

[hyphenate]

Once upon a time....you did something absolutely wonderful. The pinnacle of your life. The zenith of all that you are about. Or has it happened yet?

I read a short story some time ago, a fantasy that discussed a "pawn shop" where you could go and "buy" a memory of your greatest moment. If it were in the past, you would receive that memory in all its brilliant technicolor, down to the last detail. If it were in the future, you would be given the knowledge of when and where it would happen.

One of the story characters finds out that his greatest moment was in his past--during his high school years.

So....you get to this shop, buy your greatest moment, only to find, like the character, that your greatest moment was in your past--NOT in your future. That every minute of your life after that point is a letdown in comparison to that one shining time.

How do you feel? Does it bother you to think that you will never again have a moment to rival that high point? Do you feel as though the rest of your life, after that moment, is a letdown and a waste of time?

Not knowing the truth can help blunt that disappointment, I think. That's why, as the mere mortals that we are, we are not privy to our futures and the supreme knowledge of what that moment is--or was.

Do you think when you are older, dying or in such dire circumstance, that you can reflect on your life and determine what that moment actually was?

And do you feel that the moment of your crowning achievement will be related to your family, your career or some other intangible part of your life? Some people look at life through the eyes of a patriarch, while others look at their lives through the works they do. Even others will look at their lives from the aspect of a teacher, someone who finds the greatest pleasure is passing on knowledge and wisdom. There are as many ways to look at life as there are people.

Moreover, are we so enthralled by our own lives that we are privileged to be able to even reflect on these things, knowing that in some parts of the world such reflection is not only impossible, but that mere survival is the best that many can hope for? Is being able to be introspective a luxury?

[OldLeftieLawyer]

1. Reflection is how we stay sane

We rewrite our personal histories as soon as those histories are created, and that's how we don't go nuts.

My best moment is for me alone, and no one will ever know about it.

[MichiganVote]

2. Yup. Same here.

[Wickerman]

3. My best moment?

Once I posted a thread here at DU and someone actually responded to it. I printed it out and saved it. I'll treasure if forever.

Ecxcellent post, btw, thoughtprovoking and stuff. Truthfully, its fun to look back and think of the times that stnad out as great. It makes all the other times worth living through.

[Lindsey]

6. What a beautiful post -

I'm going to print it. This is the kind of thing that my best friend and I love to ponder and talk about. You bring up some wonderful and thought-provoking points. In fact, he & I have have had this discussion - I know his moments and he knows mine. We actually each have more than one. We also know each others darkest moments. I wouldn't want to think that my best moment (s) is/are behind me and I certainly wouldn't want to know if that was the case. I guess what I try to do on a day-to-day basis is create incredible moments EVERY CHANCE I get. GREAT POST! Thanks :-)

[hyphenate]

7. Thanks

I always wanted to be a philosopher, but it doesn't pay the bills. :)

[manic expression]

4. I look at it in a completely different way

There is no "greatest" moment. To compare 'this' to 'that' and to say that one or the other is better or worse is foolish. Just like anything else, things are different, but ultimately, the worth we give them is insignificant.

Perhaps one moment best embodied one's life and beliefs...why remorse? For that moment is only a physical manifestation of one's self. That "moment", if it is truly as described, is a continuation of one's existence and not a separate entity by any means.

Let us keep from needlessly obsessing over a moment after mistaking that for something better than what we are, for that moment only represents WHO WE ARE, that which is NOW, HERE and ETERNAL. Once one embraces THIS, they will not only become what that moment embodies, but the perpetual and endless power from where it sprang, from what all things truly are.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

5. You've been reading too much

Be Here Now.

It's human to rank and rate and evaluate and compare and to try to deny that is to try, and, ultimately, fail to negate a basic human trait.

Revel in it. It's one of the loveliest things about our kind, since it's what causes us to try to do better. If you have no "better," you're chasing your own tail.

[Lindsey]

8. I forgot to mention the move "After Life" it's an Asian film (subtitled)

and the premise is that when one dies, we pick our most special moment and that's our Heaven. The movie was okay but I love the premise.

[manic expression]

9. Not quite

If you have better or worse in a context of your own perception, you have been chasing distant mirages.

It is also "human" to ignore compassion and conscience in favor of petty desires. It is "human" to value material wealth over inner beauty and true worth. Such "basic human traits" are not only detrimental to one's actions and outlook, they distract one from what really IS.

Go ahead, rank your moments ahead of what truly matters, your own self. Do not be shocked when what you saw as your precious collection melts away in front of you, leaving the real worth BEHIND those moments, which ultimately will lead you back to the self once more.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

11. Now you're reading

too much Barbara Cartland.

Such purple prose, muddying what is a really very simple set of concepts:

Do your best;

be kind;

treat others as if they're holding a gun on you;

always wear gloves;

never give out your home phone number;

don't order anchovies on the pizza unless everyone agrees.

And now I must go chase a "distant mirage," since the nearby mirage was closed for the night.

(Lighten up, child - life is for celebrating, not condemning those who think differently from you.)

[manic expression]

12. If that's the way it is...

You can lead your life the way you want to. Remember what I said before (paraphrased): "Things are different, but not better or worse"

By the way, I have no idea who Barbara Cartland is (and I don't really care).

And another by the way, I didn't do any muddying at all, I merely stated the inner truths as I see them.

If you would like to lead your life that way, I am happy that you are doing so. I'm not exactly sure where we disagree, but it's no big deal.

I wasn't condemning ya...just expressing myself (look at my screen name!).

on edit: perhaps I know where we disagree. I feel that there is infinitely more to life than mere celebration. It lies within, with and around everything. Just look and you'll find it. Then you'll have something you can really celebrate! ;)

[manic expression]

13. One more thing....

Sorry I'm obsessive.

Look, when your life ends, what remains? Part of living your life is having fun, of course, and this is good, but there is much more to existence than this. If one chooses to spend one part of this partying, that is fine. Only realize this is fleeting, and after it is over, you will find yourself craving another, and what real worth has been found then? This is like a glutton eating without thought to necessity or true cravings, nothing will come of it but excess. Eat a cookie, but be mindful mindful that it is superfluous, and know the true meaning of food.

Within all this is an entity unaffected and eternal. I am merely pointing towards this, and I sincerely hope you see it.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

14. Honey, I'm old

I've lived some life, lots of it, and while you're busy preaching, consider that you're operating from some sort of ego that's causing you to lecture about something that's ineffable.

Stop scolding and go live - you sound like you're desperately in need of some wild nights, goofy days, and lots and lots of unspeakably dirty sex.

[manic expression]

18. Oh, gee...

Yes, I'm desperately in need of all those things, which is exactly why I just got back from my prom.... Oh, wait....

You say I'm coming from ego? You really need to think a little bit. Desire only for "wild nights" and "dirty sex" is the calling card for EGO. Is that all you really care about in life? Do you really so woefully latch on to what lasts for a moment, matters little and then ceases to be? I was completely right, you are chasing a mirage.

Am I really scolding? You're the one lecturing me about (what you think is) MY LIFE. Just because I don't get stupidly drunk and revel in ignorance (like you seem to portray yourself as doing) doesn't mean I'm desperate for ANYTHING, and actually, it means the opposite. I've seen my good friends loose all touch with everything except for their dependence on drugs, some of which that I have personally tried (and disliked because I think as an individual, not as a whore to conventional behavior or what other people tell me). I've seen the AA meetings. I'm speaking from real experiences that I've learned from, I'm also speaking from the truths that I see in the world. If you can't see that, then I suggest you run along and reduce yourself into a pitiful pile of ignorance again (by way of drugs or alcohol or simply idiotic behavior and thought, by all means).

You think you've been living while you've been so clearly asleep. Wake up.

Oh and by the way, while you're off ranking your best moments, let's rank the best cultures and best flowers while we're at it. That's the bottom line, none of those things are better or worse, they are merely DIFFERENT.

[HawkerHurricane]

10. The ancient Greeks...

when someone was being awarded for being great/clever/brave would chant "Die Now!", based on the idea that it was better to die at your high point than suffer through your inevitable downfall...

[HEyHEY]

15. I really don't know

[uppityperson]

16. My greatest moment: birth. Second greatest: when I die.

[Fuzz]

17. I'll join the conversation if anyone can lend me some pot.

:)

[khashka]

19. Nobody's gonna get this but......

My lover strapping me down and flogging the living hell out of me. I really hated it, if I had gotten loose I'd have killed the ratfuck bastard. And then something changed and I really understood perfect love and perfect trust. And I was totally in that moment and wanted it to last forever....


Khash.

[Orsino]

20. Harlan Ellison's "The Cheese Stands Alone"

...from the Stalking The Nightmare collection. Wicked, wicked twist of an ending, that.