The Most Beautiful Day of Your Life

Life comes and goes so fast, sometimes we barely stop to smell the asphalt! With the evolution of technology our idea of “quality time” is Facetime with our loved ones or sitting around a restaurant table trying to have a discussion as our mobile phones vibrate to notify us Uncle Otis is trending on Tiktok for making mash potatoes by boiling Pringles or cousin Tina went viral for her attempt at #takethepiss challenge. Yep, she really drank piss! Could be worse, she could be eating foods that make her fart so she can sell them in jars. Wait, that already happened!

The fact is, we rarely STOP to look around and appreciate the world for what it is…simply beautiful like waking up to the sound of the waves crashing harmoniously with the frail squawking of seagulls, walking through an empty forest in the afternoon as the sun radiates a flashlight haze through the trees or the sound of laughter from small children in the distances dancing to the whisper of the wind. Although these moments are rare they can be found every day at any moment when we are willing to stop. My day was walking through the streets of Amsterdam…

It was a semi-sunny morning in downtown Amersterdam. There was a light mist in the air with petrichor as its perfume. People of all shapes, shades, colors, and sizes were gently walking along the streets. Along my morning promenade by a large square, I could hear a low mixture of laughter and conversations among the pitter-patter of cobblestone and brick streets. North African peddlers standing amongst monuments offering the best of the best recreational that will “enhance” your stay in wonderful Amsterdam 🙂

Walking through the streets among the parade of pedestrians on holiday or out for the day, I felt the sun beating from above as raindrops fell equally. An unfamiliar feeling fell over me as I watched a group here and there with raindrops on their shoulders and hair beginning to become slick from the rainfall, but no one was running to shelter or hurrying to avoid the bath God was providing. There was a sense of peace, stillness, calm; as if everyone was there in that moment, and then it happened…

Walking towards me, eye to eye with wet dark chocolate brown hair and Hershey kiss eyes with olive skin that would make the most attractive Italian jealous was the gleaming smile of a young Dutch woman conversating and laughing with her peers. A second later our eyes met, her smile still bright with cheeks that look like she just ate two Bouncy Balls. A grin formed on my face that seemed to grow as we drew closer. Time slowed and the world seemed to be in slow motion like the movies when two people locked eyes in the event that they were supposed to meet. This time, I didn’t stop her to say hello and we both didn’t turn around to have a magic moment. The moment was already magical on its own.

The peace I felt when she smiled was like nothing I’ve ever felt and have rarely sensed since then. It was like that moment when you first slide under the covers, getting into a nice tub, or the moment before your lips touch someone for the first time. It felt as though the world was perfect for being as it was. The sun shining as the rain falls, the laughter of friends among spoken illegal advertisements, this beautiful person smiling at me and I at her as we never see each other again.

The world is beautiful not because of what she gives us, it’s beautiful because of what she takes also. Moments although fleeting are priceless because they come and go so commonly. But, it’s up to be in that moment, allow ourselves to dive into the ecstasy of what is, and be there so that when it’s gone, the memory stays….forever. It’s been exactly twenty years since our paths cross and I still remember her face like it was yesterday. I can still feel the drops of water laying on my cable knit sweater like a weighted blanket as the sun-kissed my neck. The smell of freshness in the air and sentiment in my heart from her smile!

Thank you for that moment. I hope our paths cross again someday or…maybe they already did and I was busy! 🙂

Bon Voyage

#beautiful #moments #travel #meditation #Life #love #mindfulness #emotions