by
Robert Alan Silverstein
I
don't spend much time on Twitter, or social media in general.
But sometimes there's some interesting stuff out there.
That day it was pretty slim pickings, and to be honest, I'm
not even sure what tweet I was looking at when I somehow accidentally
clicked on a link and started a Zoom session.
My thumbs are way too big for my phone keys!
I was feeling pretty frazzled and was trying to close the
window when I got a phone call. Spam of course. I got rid
of the call and then remembered the open Zoom session. My
thumb was perfectly poised to close it down, when I noticed
the pretty face in one of the squares on the screen.
I could not stop looking into those beautiful eyes.
But meanwhile, the guy in the middle square on the screen
was talking, and I only half listened to what he was saying
as I stared into those beautiful eyes and that pretty face.
It slowly sank in that apparently this was some kind of weird
guided meditation or something. I'm really not into that new
age stuff. Well, not really. Although I must admit, I've really
always wanted to learn how to meditate. But I just never could
get myself to sit down and do it properly. Even though I really
would like to. And after all these years, it's gotten to the
point that even just the idea of meditating gets me feeling
all guiltily uncomfortable. So you'll understand that normally
I would have just shut it all down, pronto. But those pretty
eyes.
So the guy was saying something about "Bliss Moments"... like
when you're watching a movie, or reading a book or listening
to a song... and for a instant your mind and your heart are
at peace, and you're vicariously transported beyond your thoughts
to some indescribable forever moment...
The beautiful woman seemed really into what the guy was saying,
and I had to admit his words did seem to resonate with what
I was feeling right at that moment.
"Anything
can transport us to that peaceful moment InBetween space and
time -- a sunset, a pretty face..."
Her eyes were mesmerizing.
The guy's voice seemed to be drifting in and out. Half the
time I couldn't even hear his words, but I felt what he was
talking about like it was some deeper truth. He was saying
something about different kinds of those bliss moments and
the "Bliss Triggers" that bring us those peaceful escapes.
There's 'body bliss', where you lose yourself through a physical
activity, like dancing or running or shooting a basketball,
or playing a musical instrument or kissing someone -- and
you find yourself 'in the zone'...
And insightful bliss, where you're totally focused on a problem-solving
mental activity that brings you closer and closer to the brink
of that final insightful solution...
And creative bliss, where you're completely submerged in a
universal creative pool, and unique never-before explored
words or music just flow through you...
My mind was drifting in and out like a wave. One instant I'm
completely lost, just experiencing what the guy's saying,
and the next I'm staring into those pretty eyes, finding myself
drifting back deeper into them, until my mind is lost again.
"But
one of the most interesting of all, is the melancholy bliss
triggered most successfully through songs. Which is what we're
studying today," I heard the guy distinctly say, and found
myself staring at my phone screen and the squares of participants
in the zoom room. "... We've had very good success with this
song as an InBetweening springboard reported at 1:43 and 4:44.
So close your eyes now and begin practicing the intentional
breathing technique we went over..."
I found myself involuntarily closing my eyes, but strangely
that pretty woman's eyes were still there gazing at me in
my mind's eye.
"Let
the music carry you to that utopian dream you've been practicing
visualizing in your other training sessions..."
I could hear the other participants' breathing as the song
melodically washed over me.
And then I noticed the woman I'd been obsessing over seemed
to be standing before me, her eyes closed as she breathed
deeply in and out.
What the... I could barely breathe.
Then she opened her eyes. "Hi!" she exclaimed with a surprised
smile.
"Hi..."
I whispered back automatically, but unbelievingly.
"Wow...
this actually worked..." she gasped, eyes wide in wonder.
"I've been training for... Well, way over six months, and
I've done sixteen group meditations, but this... this is the
first time I've actually connected to anyone InBetween..."
she gushed, gazing at me with what I longed to describe as
loving eyes.
This was all just too weird -- I just stood there not knowing
what to say.
She looked around and her smile widened even brighter. "I
always wanted to believe it was possible... But the truth
is, I didn't really think I'd ever be able to do it... You
know what I mean?"
I opened my mouth, but no words came out.
Suddenly she looked worried. "You are here, right? I'm not
just imagining this...?"
"Um,
I think so..." I stuttered.
Her face brightened again in pure bliss. "I'm the first on
our Team to make an InBetween connection. This is so great!
I can't wait to tell everyone. We're going to do so much together,
you and me... Together we'll help get the whole group up to
the next level..."
"We
will?" I said softly. I had no idea what she was talking about,
but with all my heart I hoped the "together" part was true.
That worried look started to come over her again and she stepped
forward, reaching for my hand.
I gasped, and held my breath again when she touched me, because
she sure felt real.
"I'm
not sure how long this will last," she swallowed as she stared
into my eyes. "This is all taking place in just a flash, out
in the real world...And supposedly we might not even remember
much of this..."
What? I didn't see how I could ever forget any second of this
experience. I started to panic. What if she's right and I
forgot this all happened!?
She sensed my fear and squeezed my hand as she bit her lip
in thought. "Let's see, we're supposed to exchange passwords
and give each other contact info so we can prove that we actually
did connect InBetween."
"Yes,
let's do that!" I gasped.
"Okay!
So, password... Right..." she whispered. "Now what did I decide
on? There were so many great ideas I was toying with. But
I... I can't seem to remember now what I decided I would use
if this ever worked..."
She
looked so perplexed, I wished with all my heart that I could
help her remember. But I could barely form a thought, let
alone speak a word.
"May
Peace Prevail on Earth?" she said hesitantly. "Maybe. That
is a good one, but is that what I decided?"
Something
stirred in me, like an illuminating key was inserting into
the keyhole of the door in the wall surrounding my heart.
"Uh...
See You Inbetween?"
I
felt the key turning, slowly unlocking the lock's tumblers,
one by one.
"No,
I don't think that was it... Hiara pirlu resh kavawn..."
The
lock clicked.
"No.
That's not it. Oh wait!" she exclaimed.
The
doorknob began to turn.
"Okay,
I saw this on the license plates when I visited Quebec a few
years ago and always thought it was cool, so let's use 'Je
Me Souviens' as my password..."
She
looked expectantly at me, obviously waiting for me to give
her my password.
My
mind was a blank. I'm not sure where it came from but I found
myself blurting, "Peacetopia..." She smiled approvingly.
The
door began to open.
"Now,
my email is..."
She very well may have given me her email address. Maybe she
told me her name and maybe I told her mine. I'm not sure,
because the next thing I knew, I was staring at a blank screen
on my cell phone, and my memories of that wonderful experience
were quickly fading.
"No!"
I gasped and closed my eyes tightly, trying to hold on to
the fleeting images. But before I knew it, I was left with
just a hazy memory of having connected with someone wonderful.
I could hardly remember anything. I wasn't even really able
to remember those pretty eyes and that beautiful face very
clearly. And even that blurry image was fading away.
Needless to say, I was really bummed. But I had stuff to do,
places to go.
Still, I kept finding the experience popping back into my
daydreams all day long. I've always been a big daydreamer,
but this seemed pretty single-minded. I kept finding myself
trying to visualize her face and those eyes and replay the
conversation I'd apparently imagined. And most of all I tried
to remember her email so I could contact her in real-life.
Days passed by, and little by little I began to recall bits
and pieces. And then I remembered the part about "bliss triggers"...
Frantically, I did a search on twitter for #BissTrigger and
some pretty cool stuff came up. One was a song I really love.
I listened for a while, and the song really did take me someplace.
A blissful moment, I realized when it was past. But it wasn't
THE bliss moment I was looking for, because she wasn't in
it.
Every morning and every night (and way too many times throughout
the day) I ritually went through every #BlissTrigger hashtag
on twitter I could find, hoping something would bring me back
to that timeless, spaceless place InBetween where I'd find
her. Lots of really nice blissful moments. But none with her
in them.
I'd long since given up hope, but continued until one day
there was this lovely picture of a woman looking out at a
beautiful sunset. With every fiber of my being, I knew it
was her. Nervously I started to DM her.
"Je
me souviens - Peacetopia."
I bit my lip as my finger poised over the SEND button. "Maybe
this is crazy," I warned myself.
But what the heck. I closed my eyes and pressed the key.
And then, we were standing together in the InBetween.
"Bob!"
she laughed and hugged me tightly.
THE BEGINNING
©
2022 Robert Alan Silverstein
