November 1, 2026
By Arthur H. Gunther III
The particular moment. It need not go beyond a minute and morph into hours, days, years as continuing emotion. It does not have to be an epiphany with a long story line enduring beyond routine, the every day. The particular moment is an unexpected, out-of-ordinary, perhaps out-of-world experience that forever changes you. It will reinforce your existence, maybe define it. And it will prove an anchor in the toughest of times.
The particular moment may be an experience or belief not shared by your group. Perhaps you change your views, to the good. You grow. You are you.
The particular moment may arrive much later in life, long after the mistakes of youth, but also after renewals and achievements. You realize luck also saved you. Humbling.
The particular moment is not always shared, say in a relationship that does not last, but one of the two will forever have a link to emotion with a door only she or he can open. The reality of it is alive in memory only. Its truth is beyond question. That is reaffirming. You do exist.
We keep particular moments to ourselves, on the shelves of our life’s library. There is never an overdue notice.
The writer is a retired newspaperman.
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