Just A Moment

Just A Moment

When we say "just a moment" do we ever consider what a moment really is?

We say "just a moment" without thinking of what moments mean in our lives. Does a moment reflect a certain amount of time? Does a moment in time mean something different to each one of us?

Is a moment a measurement of time - or it something else?

Can a moment really be measured as time at all? Or are moments more like fragile and intangible milestones of our lives?

Our lives can change in just a moment. A child is born in a moment and we all will die in a moment. Great ideas flash in the minds of ordinary people in a moment, yet those ideas born in a moment can change the world forever.

A dictator seizes power and enslaves an entire civilization changing millions of lives in just a moment. We can go from freedom to slavery in just a moment.

A soldier battling bravely for his country one moment and in the next a moment is killed. That one moment in time changes the lives of so many others, his family, friends and loved ones. But it all happened in just a moment.

We fall in love, make life-changing decisions, make mistakes, get ideas, conceive a child, give birth, do many of the most important things in life, and even die, all in just a moment.

A moment of thoughtlessness can turn a friend away forever. A moment of bad judgment can ruin our lives - and the lives of those who love us.

A moment of anger can turn a loving person into an uncontrollable one filled with rage and hate.

Bad news arrives from far away and turns our laughter into tears in just a moment.

We say "just a moment" without thinking or realizing just how important those moments may be. We sometimes trivialize moments, but in the course our lives moments make all the difference.

The moments that take our breath away may never be as important as the moments that do not. For it is those unplanned moments, the ones that just happen without planning, that we remember most - that first kiss, that first soft, spring morning after a long harsh winter, the sound of robin singing, the smell of the air after a summer thunderstorm, the smile of a child - all just everyday moments in our lives, but they may well be the moments we treasure most.

Then there are life changing moments like the birth of a child, a child's first step, a child's first word, or the last sighing breaths of a loved one who is dying. All of these are just moments but they are moments that make up our lives.

And, someday all of our lives will end in just a moment.

In just a moment we can make or break a lifetime, hurt a friend, think a thought that sparks an idea that changes the world, or end a life. So, the next time you say "just a moment" remember how important a moment can be.

This moment or the next might be the most important moment of your life.

Tell us what you think - Please