Time stand still

”Time Stand Still” is one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite bands, Rush.

It was leaping from the iPod on my way home yesterday, and I had not realized how long it has been since I last heard it.

The message is perfect:

"Time stand still
I'm not looking back
But I want to look around me now
Time stand still
See more of the people and the places that surround me now
Freeze this moment a little bit longer
Make each sensation a little bit stronger
Experience slips away"

Neil Peart isn’t saying he wants to go back and fix the mistakes of the past, and he’s not saying he can’t wait for tomorrow. He’s saying look at what we have today. Enjoy it, appreciate it, be thankful for it and celebrate it.

And look at our Mets.

After a four-game sweep of the NL West-leading Diamondbacks, we have the best record in the National League, and are one win shy of the best record in baseball.

Two weeks ago the back end of our rotation was a patchworked disaster. This weekend new acquisition Orlando Hernandez tossed a three-hitter. And not to be outdone, fellow Cuban defector Alay Soler threw a two-hitter.

At the front of the rotation, Tom Glavine’s nine wins are tied for tops in baseball, and Pedro on Sunday finally got some support – 15 runs worth.

Leadoff hitter Jose Reyes is tied for the major league lead in stolen bases.

Third baseman David Wright is third in the league in batting average -- and is just two points behind the leader – and seems to thrive in clutch situations. If he’s not starting the All-Star Game, it’s because Cardinals fans are stuffing the ballot.

Centerfielder Carlos Beltran is playing like the guy we thought we were getting when we signed him to that massive contract last year, and is among the league leaders in runs batted in and home runs.

Carlos Delgado, who carried the club in April and May, came out of his June funk by seemingly using Diamondback pitchers for batting practice.

Lastings Milledge appears intent on proving that not trading him was the best decision the Mets made last winter. It seems like he’s getting extra-base hits in every game.

We sit six games atop in the standings. The Braves, who always seem to break our hearts, are 10 games back.

Heck, even the Yankees are slumping, getting swept by Oakland this weekend and trailing the Red Sox in the standings and have the Blue Jays charging up behind them. And, of course, one of the players on their 1999 and 2000 championship teams is talking to the feds about alleged use of human growth hormone and has named names. Yes, he was on the team that beat us in the 2000 World Series.

"Summer's going fast, nights growing colder
Children growing up, old friends growing older
Freeze this moment a little bit longer
Make each impression a little bit stronger."

All of the things I just listed are true today. Tomorrow, I’m not so sure. We’ve been through rough times. Today is a good day. Revel in it. Enjoy it.