Epiphany aka AHA moments

Oprah made famous the “Aha moment” as she would interview a lifetime of people. As they would say something that would inspire her she would stop them, calling it an “aha moment” and then marinate on the thought. Call it an “aha moment” or an “epiphany”, whatever it is called these are the places where we grow.

When researching the word I found it interesting to learn that an Epiphany is actually “the feast of the three kings celebrated 12 days after Christmas”. Wow, that is not what I expected but of course a profound word would come from a profound celebration. The definition of Epiphany that I am exploring is rather ” a sudden and profound understanding of something”.

We have epiphanies throughout day, weeks and ultimately throughout our lives. I like to think that these are the moments where we truly grow. It is a thought that blows your mind, makes you think in a different way or inspires you to act. The growth can be found in both the epiphany itself and in the action it inspires.

When defining the “aha moment” Oprah notes that it is actually something you already knew. The “aha” is the remembering of what you already knew that resonates with your truth. It is an awakening…a glimpse of recognition.

An epiphany is an identifiable thought that creates awareness and inspiration the effort of “acting” on it can be difficult. Many times an epiphany is something that is out of reach of your daily routines or habits and therefore to employ that epiphany you have to do the work. This is where the internal conflict can begin because the work may or may not fit easily within your current environment. Knowing what I need to do versus what I actually do is always the internal conflict. Feeling the pressure of acknowledging and acting on an epiphany makes this internal conflict more intense.

When you have that moment of clarity what does it inspire in you and how do you act on it? When you decide instead to suppress it, why do you do that? Is it because acting on it will be too hard? I think this is exactly what occurs in me. Better yet I will set that intention to act and then through the process of acting decide it can wait. Not that it isn’t worth doing or acting on but that it is too hard in this moment or ever.

Whatever the result, revel in the epiphanies. Allow them to make you stop and say “AHA”! These moments of clarity are supposed to create response which is why they are epiphanies and not a “great idea”. When you have an epiphany, stop, enjoy the moment and then decide if it is actionable without losing the intrigue that defines a thought as an Epiphany.

Life as I see it – L.