Epiphany (Webster): “a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience; any moment of great or sudden revelation…” Yes! Love Epiphanies. Most of the time they are of the sudden or great variety, at least for me. They often start small and quiet but when the ‘eureka’ hits – they are significant and powerful, enough to cause us to stop and change or rethink. And it may result in an entirely new paradigm.
I do not experience epiphanies daily or even weekly which is why they are so special when they occur. I suspect I give them more credence because of their unexpectedness and lack of regularity – so when they do appear, it is always significant. I’m not sure one can ‘inspire’ an epiphany or go in search of them. For me, an epiphany functions as a kind of ‘break through’ into a new way of seeing or interacting with what has just occurred. Sometimes, though, it can be totally unrelated to what I was doing at the moment. However, it is always a new learning, though it may simply be a deepening of a previous learning.
Personally I welcome epiphanies because my experience is that they are a positive. Epiphanies may come as an alert or warning but in and of themselves, they are not ‘negative’. However, the ones I appreciate the most are those that lead me in a new way of considering (fill in the blank) or refining what it is I believe, think, and do. These are the times that are perhaps not life changing but they can be life altering. Regardless of the depth of significance – they always arrest and stop me.
The primary consideration though is the source of the epiphany. In scripture we are giving an aid in 1 John 4:1, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits…” I apply this to epiphanies as well. Quoting an intentional misquote – Assumptions doth make fools of us all. Which, to me, means that there has to be a rationality to and trust in the epiphany, though others may disagree. Epiphanies, in my world of definitions, are meant to lead us onward. If so, then we need to be able to trust the source of the epiphany and discard any pseudo or false ones. An epiphany can be exhilarating. I tend to consider them as God’s inspiration made manifest in us.
