Your "Zen Moment"

Ok...this may seem like an odd question to ask, but I'm interested to know what some of your "Zen Moments" have been. By this, I mean moments where you have felt truly alive...that all is right with the world...that you are perfectly comfortable with yourself, with life, with the world.

I have had a couple of these, but the one I remember is when I was in the Highlands of Scotland. I was on a backpacker's tour of the Highlands, and we had stopped to eat our bag lunches and play in a field. I was sitting off by myself, looking up at the mountains, and for once in my life, I felt complete bliss. I was so happy, so content, so perfectly comfortable with who I was and where I was, it almost brought tears to my eyes. It was a lovely moment, and one I will always remember. A friend of mine even took a picture of me sitting there in the grass, and he termed it my "Zen moment."

One other moment I remember is when I was on a train, travelling through Switzerland. I looked out the window and saw a field of bright flowers, and in the distance, the Alps were looming. It was absolutely amazing...the colors were so vivid, and the scene was so intensely beautiful. Again, tears came to my eyes because I didn't think I had ever seen such bright colors and such beauty. At that moment, I realized what beauty we can find in this world.

Gee...such happy moments sure do seem to switch on the waterworks for me, eh?

Anyway...let's hear 'em! I would love to hear about your experiences...

[This message has been edited by CyberPixie (edited 05-25-2001).]

Usually round about payday or after 10 pints

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In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is pimp

[adam warlock]

I thought Zen moments took place in...... nevermind...

anyhoo..... had one while laying down on the grass and watching the clouds...


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Seriously speaking, whenever I've had NO distractions - not that often these days unfortunately 0 I maintain the state Ataraxia (supposed to enhance Psychic abilities) and I go 'Zen' when all else gone

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In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is pimp

[bilqis]

1979 - Standing on a narrow path on a mountain side in Ib, a city in Yemen, with the city, terraces, greenery (rare in Yemen) spread out at my feet for miles. And the sky close enough to touch. I'll never forget it. (Actually, I had many Zen moments in Yemen)

1990 - Holding my youngest son after I had awakened from an emergency c-section (had an abruption), knowing we were both alive AND that he was perfectly healthy and beautiful.

1994(?) - Standing in the crowd at Lollapalooza (major outdoor rock concert), watching Tool perform, as a Major thunderstorm approached behind them... lightening flashing in the background. They couldn't have staged a better show if they'd tried!

There are more.. but these are true highlights.

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Sometimes I think I
understand everything,
then I regain consciousness.

Happy Member of Fast Fourward.

[Lady Avalon]

Actually, I remember several "zen moments." However, one in particular comes to mind. I was hiking with a friend at Foster Falls in the Cumberland Mountains - the Fiery Gizzard trail. There was an overlook of Foster Falls and we stopped, took off our hiking boots and socks and just sat and watched the waterfall. It was so peaceful.

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Seeker of Truth

[Mouse]

Standing in the warm rain on a balcony in Corfu at 3am watching a thunderstorm overhead (after sex ).



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Regards



Mouse

[Wah]

Felt like an elf come home, after I sat alone (on a warm summer's day) surrounded by trees.

Then it rained and I said "F*ck It"

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Greetings Mortals. My Name Is Wah, Arch Lich Wah.

[Sazerac]

In 1988, while camping in the Rocky Mountain National Park...we were just below the Timberline. Right after the sun went down, we heard the wolves calling to each other...it sounded like it was from every mountaintop...

...and I went into a deep reverie. I communed with them; I could hear their language; they have syllables, pulse, meter, rhythm, and I realized the deep intelligence of these beings and that their level of communication approaches ours in complexity and in thought process...

and that memory remains with me to this day.

Wolf is truly a unique being.

[Davros]

It was this very Monday on the 15th at Spyglass Hill - I had started the back nine with 5 straight pars - the round was going well.

On the 15th I pulled my approach into a very poor lie left of the green. The ball was half submerged under pine needles, leaves and dried chunks of mud. A tree sanctioned me with its' shade, but low branches meant that the high aerial route was not an option. Carefully I stalked through the lush cabbage of rough, noting the angular shoulder to the bunker and the severe slope on which the tightly cut pin was placed. Finding little promise on any front, I wandered back behind the ball to assess my chances. A pond beckoned delightedly behind the flag, the steeply angled slope inviting disaster.

What would Tiger or the Shark do? How could I avoid the threatening double or triple bogey? Then the option came to me - the lie could only promise bladed contact at best. If I attempted a skinnied chip with say a pitching wedge then where could I land it. A sparse hole in the rough, up near the bunker shoulder offered itself as an opportunity. The possibility was expanded - could I land the ball with enough momentum to skip through the remaining cabbage, yet emerge with almost no pace on the lightning putting surface. From there, surely the ball would slowly descibe a gentle arc some 8 ft forward and 25 ft sideways to the right - over there by the flag.

The plan was set - clearly visualised - a masterful recovery was indeed possible. Now it was all up to the execution and the luck of that 1st bounce.

The bladed edge struck true, nudginging the ball forward to its tiny target. The ball struck firmy against the bunker shoulder, popping ever so slightly upwards, but arrowing foward due to the lack of backspin. Brushing its way through the thick rough, momentum rapidly eroding, the ball emerged triumphantly onto the fine cut of the green. With exquisite slowness, the ball gathered pace down the slope, tracing its' gentle arc to a point some 3 inches from the pin to the growing wonder and applause of my playing partners.

THIS WAS MY ZEN MOMENT - I couldn't repeat that shot in a thousand attempts - I would give Tiger that many tries to get the ball that close.



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Nordom, cousin to Davros