my treasure is just a few moments

we approach the world with a lens to understand it. We take in information through our senses, process to make sense of it - either fit it to an existing mental model or categorize it relative to one. This is natural, needed for survival.

However there are a few things that happen before this - they happen so fast that we barely notice them.

we perceive - aided by but not limited to receiving inputs through the senses;

we feel - the stimulation that the input from the senses creates in our body;

we recognise - process of familiarity against stored knowledge;

we understand - filtered through the mind to categorise;

we then react/respond.

Understanding is familiar territory. The process of feeling & recognising that comes before understanding can also be remembered from experience - the feeling of comfort in the presence of a loved one or recognising an old acquaintance seen at an unexpected place.

It is the ‘perceiving’ that is difficult to wrap our head around. Yet there are moments in which we have known this and two kinds come to mind.

Extreme fear or shock - often stated example would be a potentially life threatening accident or situation. Here we find ourselves in a heightened sense of awareness of our surroundings, often quoted as seeing things in slow motion.

Or in a moment of immense and unexpected love, kindness or beauty - say looking at a wildly beautiful sunset. That first moment when one feels overwhelmed and at loss of words - before even uttering the word 'beautiful'.

What happens in perceiving is a sort of receiving and responding at the same time - without words or even thoughts. It is devoid of the filtering through the baggage of the mind. It is true experiencing and knowing - not limited by understanding. You don't need to understand color theory or technique to feel those goosebumps when you stand in front of Monet's lilies, or you don't need to understand notes and scales to feel a composition from Bach. The most recognisable sensation due to it might be called the visceral response, but that may be only the culmination of perceiving.

I find what i treasure the most are these fractional moments collected together over time. Moments of experiencing great work, moments of immense love, moments of innocence and beauty. It is like a sanctuary or a source of inspiration.

Also interesting is that in this perceiving many things seem to fall away - what is the subject (art, music, design, science, architecture, sport, etc), who the creator is or what is the object of creation. What remains is just the essence of what is experienced.

This then is not limited - to a topic, object or person - it is available everywhere, in everything.

But how does one experience this?

The only way seems to be to build awareness. Be more often, more aware of the process of experiencing. Higher awareness seems like a high frame rate camera. A high speed camera is able to capture more frames per second - more fractions within a time, letting us see things better - like in slow motion.

Being more aware is like having a higher frame rate camera to experience life.