Ichiro snores. The fog horn blows. My feet are cold and the fragrance of lilies on the kitchen counter drifts into the living room where I stare at the precarious position of my teacup on the edge of the coffee table while pondering this run on sentence the here and now.

Well, maybe not so much the here (sitting on a chair, in my living room, in my house, in California, on the continent of North America, on the planet Earth), as the now: this minute, this second, this milli- micro- nanosecond that has slipped into the past faster than it took you to read to the end of this sentence. I will never experience firsthand that specific now moment again.

Now, however, in this new now moment, I am forced to contemplate those minuscule components that shape my experience of time – the intangible representations of measurement – the knot of one-time nows that burst forth billions of yesterdays ago, scattered in an endless number of infinite directions, and stopped here long enough to dump me in this moment called now.

Are you keeping up? It is mind-boggling, right? There’s probably some math equation for this, or at least a theory, but I’m not the one to ask. I never made it past the first week of Calculus.

Now, in an attempt to keep your grey matter from exploding out your ears, let’s take a deep breath, exhale, and relax in the sights surrounding Sedona, Arizona, for a moment…

Ahhhhh! I’m feeling better now. How about you?

It is fascinating how an infinity of nows, strung like fine pearls upon one single strand of time, has led to this moment, isn’t it? A moment where the keys under my fingertips tap symbols associated with sounds in a carefully selected sequence which create the words

that connect us
– you and I –
NOW

on devices that are separated by counties, countries, and continents
in this moment
NOW
this very beautiful moment

Thank you for the gift of your presence ❤

A thank you also to Susanne Fletcher for throwing down the gauntlet to a 3-day quote challenge. I urge you to visit her at Wuthering Bites for a Smörgåsbord of creative literary treats AND at Redosue for a top-chef’s menu of creative non-fiction. (It must be lunchtime-my appetite has hijacked the keyboard.)

Now (no pun intended) it’s my turn. For the first round, here are three of my favorite bloggers. They are welcome to join in or, in Susanne’s words, “just bask in the limelight of the traffic to their blogs.” If you, Jennifer, Tony, and Torrie, decide to accept the challenge, please pick three quotes for three days (not necessarily consecutive) and select three different nominees each day. Be sure to thank the person who nominated you and let the nominees know you’ve tagged them. Easy Peasy.

My nominees are:

• Jennifer Reinherz, an inspiration when it comes to raising kids, sharing her experience with interfaith marriage, writing children’s books, and still having time for CrossFit
• Tony Quarrington, whose love affair with San Francisco exceeds my own. Tony’s wit, insights, and charming descriptions of his travels will have you booking your next road trip right now.
•  A.PROMPTreply, where Torrie’s Happy Monday is always a nice way to start the week.

ENJOY!