Most of life only lasts a moment. Then our life becomes a memory,  a dream. We are only alive a millisecond at a time. This moment! Or as one teacher puts it, holding his thumb and forefinger about a quarter-inch apart  “All of life is only just this much – about a moment at a time”. When we open to the very instant in which awareness produces consciousness, we are fully alive. Completely present. Big-minded. To the degree that we are present for “just this much”, this living moment, we are alive. Otherwise we numb to the vibrancy,  and beg upon our deathbed for just one more chance.

Stephen and Ondrea Levine, Embracing the Beloved.