It’s fitting that “tiny anomalies” is the shortest chapter in blinks of awe because it refers to largely forgotten parts of life. When picking poems for blinks of awe, I tried to group them together thematically and emotionally. Most poems carried many feelings and suggested very clear categories but soon something else snuck up on me. I first came across it when I realized Chaos & Cappuccinos simply didn’t fit in any of the other chapters. I scribbled “off-beat” in the margin until I found a better name: the in-between.
The majority of life happens between moments we remember. Everything else, every coffee sip, every brisk walk, all the moments between places and phone calls and everywhere you’re going, ends up almost entirely forgotten. My mind gently glosses over all the hours I spend here until nostalgia rushes in to remind me that quite a bit of time has passed. All of those times you lived through but hardly remember? That’s the in-between.
It fascinates me how little of my life I truly experience. Being conscious is not enough to create a life worth living. Sometimes I can be shaken out of the daily lull but drift right back in line. This happens despite the fact that I could have just died and never again had the privilege of choosing the safe and familiar! I do this by default. These are choices made at a level I’m rarely aware of.
How do you deal with the fact that the majority of life fades through you, barely remembered? It’s not worth capturing the present at all costs. Denying the past disconnects you from the why and how you got here. Ignoring the future disconnects you from the why and where you’re going. The best you can do is build awareness of what’s usually ignored. So whether you’re rocked awake by a small earthquake, find yourself among a sea of quiet coffee shop laptops, or spend more time with digital ladies than real ones, don’t forget all those moments in between the ones you’ll actually remember. Don’t ignore these tiny anomalies. Relish the in-between.
Arsenal of Words 