Peaks and Plateaus

Most of us, especially our young ones, seek the peak experience.

The high spots.

The highlights.

The explosive.

Anyone can see glimmers of this with their own two eyes, their heart, their soul. The select few have tasted it, breathed it, and lived it.

And almost like a drug, you can spend an eternity trying to recapture that initial experience. Chasing fleeting moments like ghost hares. Trying to snatch that rabbit's foot one more time.

More rare, and more rewarding, I have learned, is the plateau experience (a terrible name, btw - we will rename it) signifying a prolonged experience of elevated and profound joy.

An ability like this is earned over a lifetime. Meaning, with few exceptions in an already exceptional few, this is a superpower reserved for those who have accumulated a good amount of yesterdays.

As we grow older, the wise say, we should stop chasing Alpha Centauri, and just learn to appreciate how beautiful the full moon is.

Still celestial, still infinite, still divine, just with a more sustainable point of view.

Peaks are awesome. But plateaus can be forever.

And if I have to choose, I choose forever.

But I'm just getting old.

Hit a lot of peaks. Fell in more valleys.

Right now, I'll just enjoy the view.

...

They say you have to die a little to be truly reborn.

I feel that ess, to the bone.

I died a little.

And I am new.

I hear the moon will be beautiful tonight.

But Alpha Centauri calls.