The Moment Before

Now—the present moment—is terra incognita.

There’s nothing so "out there" about this observation. It’s scarcely some hippy proposition. We live in a world striving to be mindful; to be here now, even though that’s where we inexorably are the whole time. People with a keen sense of presence—on their toes and responsively ready to go—seem to possess a super-power, and also a dysfunction (Why so jumpy? Why so intense?).

As someone with that power/dysfunction, my fascination has shifted to the previous moment. We all time travel incessantly, but hardly anyone considers the previous moment, though its clearly visible receding face—the splash point of the Present’s ripples—should give it special status in our regard.

I'll bring this down to Earth with a solidly relatable example. Every time we're sick, there’s a moment where we announce it to ourselves. Were we perfectly fine a millisecond prior? Of course not. We were sick without consciously saying so. We knew, but without statement. And that’s interesting! Not for some exploration of (cue spooky music) THE UNCONSCIOUS, but for pragmatically understanding what this all is and how it all works.

Every conclusion, realization, thought, or action is the product of a Previous Moment. In the case of sudden lightning bolts—of Epiphanies, Eurekas, or Inspirations—the previous moment was occupied by a shift of perspective, fostering the bolt. If we were, in that moment, blandly unknowing, then what prompted the shift? We knew! We shifted because it tugged us because we knew, in a deeper, more visceral way of knowing. A moment full of juicy goodness.

But hold on. What about the moment before that Previous Moment? In that Penultimate Moment, before the shift preceding the bolt producing the epiphany, there was the making of the decision to shift. Even more profound! This Penultimate Moment might be the juiciest of all!

And if so, are we not compelled to consider the magical moment preceding that Penultimate Moment? The one where we chose to decide to shift?

Etc.