With this subject I say each to their own because everybody has their own opinion on when life truly 'stops' or when you feel life 'stops' because you know it can't really stop but we like to think it can and we play that game. For some people life 'stops' only once in their life and they do not know the moment until they are in their death bed reminiscing their time on planet Earth and they think of the time when their life stopped and they didn't give a f*** about anything and they were lost in the moment. For other people you have as many moments where life 'stops' as you want and you know when those moments are when they happen, this is people like me.
The night was 20 November 2010 a cold winters evening standing against a red brick wall of a building in Ardwick, Manchester. I heard the distant sound of a Gibson Les Paul, no mistake, like the harmony scale of a church choir to my ears from the inside of the dark bleak building and somehow I knew it had started. My backside crunched down into the seat and a long connection was made immediately to last the night. Moments and moments passed timeless through my mind and then I once again heard the 'choir' sing once more but this time the reality of it blew me away. My mind went silent and motionless as the beauty of the moment obliterated my senses. The gritty heartfelt voice sung out like flocks of angels to me and the bass-filled rumble of the drums and bass will strum my heart strings for time yet to come...
The beating of my heart took a step back towards normal insanity again on the morning of 21 November 2010 and all memory of the night before will stick in my mind and in my heart as one of the moments when I didn't give a f*** about anything or anyone and, for me, life 'stopped'...
You gotta' have abit'a cheesieness in life, it is essential. Bye.
There's another word for life stopping as you describe it Niall, and it's used as a term in the study of happiness. It's called 'Flow' aka my business name.It's when you and the world become one in the exploration of creativity or spirituality, where you are so enthralled and engrossed in the moment that the ego (or selfish self) ceases to exist. You can be in the flow in stillness of mind, but engagement of activity with joyful emotion. Listening to music, sitting atop a mountain, playing guitar, baking bread, meditating, any number of things which in turn bring you freedom from our everyday chatter and worries.You always know when you are in the flow, and the beauty of it it doesn't require chemical stimulants! It's a gift to acknowledge and recognise. Even better when you don't anticipate it. May you 'stop' aplenty to wonder and be in awe and remain open to the 'flow' in your own journey through life.
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