Abstract

When we unexpectedly see someone we know, we inhale, as if we’re breathing in the impression we get from the person and maybe even the person himself (as I see, feel, know him, etc.). Without completely holding on to the air, without locking it in, we then exhale his name. We do so, as if we just sucked some air into a ball syringe, and then immediately breathed out the very same air – unaltered, unchanged. And so, our “Ah! Ivan!!!” is let out on its own, without any participation on our behalf. This is the prototype of our inner life when the impression of a given moment is singular.