this moment

I sit here, knowing that I should be writing my final paper for my personality assessment class. I should be deconstructing the complicated facets of this woman’s personality, delineating the integral parts of her history and proposing hypotheses about how she will function in the future because of this history. Yet, instead of doing this, I find myself consumed with a far more interesting story of one man’s history and the impact of that history on his future.

A dear friend wrote to me recently, telling me that I absolutely must get this book: “The Time Traveler’s Wife”. She described it as a phenomenal love story that traces the beauty of a love through the present, past, and future. In all honesty, when I picked up the book and read the back cover, it did not seem all that appealing to me. In fact, it just seemed rather strange and so far from reality that I was quite certain I wouldn’t find it nearly as enjoyable as she did. Nevertheless, I picked it up the other night, opened the cover, and began to read. After all, I needed a break from my incessant studying.

The first couple of chapters moved slowly, my uncertainty still remaining. But determination beat uncertainty and so I continued to read. By last night, I found myself engrossed in the emotional journey of this man and little girl that is his future wife. Something about the poetic lyricism of the words, the descriptions of their momentary encounters, and the mysterious enigma that surrounds the story of their life-long love….something about it grabbed at my heartstrings and has since refused to release its grasp.

Maybe it is the reminder I so desperately need right now. A reminder to stop, to breathe, to enjoy the moment, for the moment is all that we are guaranteed. Of course the paper will still have to be done, but for the moment, it can sit and wait. In the pages of this book, I have been reminded of life’s momentary joys and the precious gift of each moment. My past was what it was and it no longer exists, except in memories. My future is unknown. The only certainty of my life is the present. So for this moment, I shall stop, breathe, and enjoy the moment.