Mysteries in the Micro-Moments

The white led lights over the desk flashed blue twice and then back to white.

It's the third time it's happened.

The remote sits in the drawer untouched, and the receiver sits in its spot on the solar battery from the van.

Theory? The strand is about to go out.

While I was in the other room, it happened more than once.

My son started investigating.

He froze and looked at me when the realization sank in.

The lights aren't plugged into the wall, the power strip, or any other electronics at my workstation.

"This is creepy."

He took a deep breath in and leaned back slightly.

Flicker. Flicker.

We both held our breath for an extra second.

I stopped myself from humming the intro music to Stranger Things.

That's when he realized he was holding the TV remote in one hand.

When he was little, he figured out how to change the TV with the app on a device. Scared the crap out of me every time it changed the channel, and it would change back to something else all on its own. He couldn't keep the ruse up for long.

Thinking the same thing, we looked down. He pressed the button on the side, and the lights changed to orange, white, blue, and back to white.

It amazed him that the TV remote controlled the led strand.

I explained the remote must be on the same wavelength as the LED remote.

Mystery solved.

He then hatched a plan to steal my remote and stand outside the living room window to randomly change the color of the lights on me, preferably during conference calls.

I glared.

He laughed.

A lot.

He went home earlier this evening, and I made sure the TV remote was safely where it belonged when he did.

Dear Scribbler

Q. How do I make my life more exciting? My life is the same every day and I don’t have time for a lot of hobbies or travel. I don’t want to start an Only Fans.

A. I’m willing to bet your life is far more exciting than you think.

The short answer is that you choose to see things from a different angle, and then doing so somewhat regularly.

That’s not to say you ever compromise your morals. No.

Instead of reacting to the fifteen things you know you have planned which haven’t happened yet, you’re choosing to take a few seconds in be fully present in something that’s happening right now.

I’m not sure I like that phrase, “fully present.”

Sure, I’ve used it, but just now, the way I wrote this to you, I don’t like how it comes accross.

Let me see if I can explain.

Every day, you’re involved in something new, something different, even if you’re homebound and never talk to another soul.

If you think about it, every single day, there is something different that happens that is out of the normal, even if it’s just slightly.

These are things to pay attention to, stop, and give yourself to it fully for a few seconds longer than you otherwise would have.

• Is something out of place?

• Did you see something out of the corner of your eye?

• Was it a neighborhood sound?

• Did the floor vibrate beneath your feet?

• Was something missing?

• Did a new creature with more legs than you suddenly appear?

You think they’re boring, but I beg to differ.

Every time you choose to look at what is happening with a wildly different lense, you enter the realm of active creation.

This is not foo-foo. This is part of our innate nature, but many of us have forgotten how to use it in the modern age.

When you question what’s happening with a wildly-differeing viewpoint, you’re curious. You’re caught up. You might be a little scared. You might feel like a kid again.

Sometimes it’s OK to let positive/fun ideas come that maybe you’re used to dismissing. If you’re with someone else, especially, if they are younger than you, might join in. Now you’re having an exchange about an imaginative scenario, which probably does have a rational explantion, but instead of just having a random “boring” moment, I challenge you to see that you’re literally creating a memory.

• How do you want that memory to happen?

• What good can you glean from it?

• Can it teach anything to someone else?

Maybe. Probably. Usually.

Taking it a step further, you start to write these “boring moments” down.

If we’re lucky, we’ll get to read some of these things one day, in your own words, in your own handwriting. We’ll get to a small glimpse into the love you have for others, the memories you created with people, and be grateful for the bit of you that shapes and impacts us all. 

One Line

One-liners are sentences meant to prompt your memories and stimulate your creativity. Use them to see what your brain comes up with. Do you see an image in your mind, feel something, remember something?

Whatever it is, start writing it down. There's no right or wrong answer. 🥳

He came out from the trees, and I held my breath.

Mission

Imagine your ideal living situation. Feel into it and try to imagine what that looks and feels like. Write down the emotions you feel as you walk through your imaginary home.

Bonus: Ask yourself what you can do today to recreate those same emotions in your life right now.

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