Tears In The Rain.

Still worth shedding, I reckon.

“I've seen things you people wouldn't believe... Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion... I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain...Time to die.”

If you haven’t seen the movie Bladerunner, the title of this post, the image used, then the highlighted quote won’t make a lot of sense. I’m not going to break it down here, for those in the dark. I believe that some things speak for themselves.

The title is beautiful. Tears In The Rain. The picture shows a man that has been through trauma and yet seems at peace. Exposed to the elements and yet not seeking shelter. The words are few, yet profound. Massive experiences described as simply moments, soon to be lost in time. The finality of the last three words, something we will all have to face, in one way or another. Our own mortality.

Have you seen things in your own life that others wouldn’t believe? Things you’ve kept to yourself or maybe just hinted at with a trusted loved one? Things you ponder and relive and try to comprehend in the solitude of your own private thoughts? Beautiful things, mysterious things, awesome things, troubling things? All moments that will ultimately be lost in time, that only live in your own memory?

For a while I travelled overseas periodically. For 2-6 week periods, 2 or 3 times a year. For just over 10 years. Mostly alone. When I arrived at my destination, I met someone at the airport and we embarked on a “mission.” I’m not one for keeping diaries or writing things down. But for whatever reason, I meticulously journaled almost every day of every one of those trips. I had some incredible experiences. There are hundreds of pages of accounts written by my hand, detailing all of them. To date, only 2 people have read those journals. One of those people has read them all, the other person has read just one. I never talked much about what transpired on the trips when I got home. My wife would collect me at the airport, and I would catch up on the events of home as a priority. Most of my exploits remained with me and me alone.

The reasons for this are several and not the subject of this particular piece. It’s nothing sinister. Maybe, a genuinely attentive ear is hard to find. And if you can’t find one, best keep quiet. Prevents frustration and despondency.

So, in a strange twist, since I started writing this post a few days ago, I have shared a few videos and pictures from some of those trips with 2 people. Unconnected people, and for different reasons. They were both very uplifted what they saw and heard. One of the people was shocked, in a good way. The words and sounds fell on attentive ears. The pictures and videos fell on attentive eyes. The words on attentive ears. That’s rare, at least for me it is.

So whats the point I’m trying to make? Well, in a world of ever increasing bullshit being written, spoken, sung and witnessed then published, at every corner, on every medium, through every device; maybe a single account of seeing an attack ship on fire off the shoulder of Orion is what is needed. A description of a C-beam glittering in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. You haven’t seen those things? Sure you have. Just in different ways. We all have. We can use great accounts, beautiful accounts of awesome things to inspire and uplift, to enrich and enhance. You mightn’t have kept a journal, but the greatest experiences, the deepest joys, the most incredible and inexplicable things never leave us.

I’m not suggesting baring our souls for the world to see and sharing our most personal experiences with legions of unattentive eyes and ears. But there are people out there that we can lift up with accounts of the fantastic. At least a few individuals here and there? Surely? If we are perceptive and brave enough to put them out there. Yes, they are all moments that will ultimately be lost in time, like tears in the rain.

But if you’re reading this now, it’s not quite time to die. Yet. The things that maybe sustained you through dark times could be a source of mental or spiritual sustenance for others currently walking through their own dark valleys. Throw something out there. See what happens.

Rick.