We travel through this life for the most part in a repetitive fashion. Nothing much changes. Get up at the same time, eat the same breakfast, drive the same way to work and clock in, work, travel the same route home, eat at the same time, and then go to bed only to get up and repeat it all again tomorrow. A lot of us try and change things up on the weekend. We try to do something different to keep the mundane of life from bringing us down. We end up doing the same things on the weekend too though.
But, there are these moments that change everything from that moment in time until forever. These are what my wife calls aha moments. The moment when you see what is right in front of you with new eyes. The world doesn’t change, you do. It may be something physical like seeing your home in a new light, possibly by using unused bedrooms as a B&B. Or it can be solving a nagging problem with a change in perspective. So many things about life begin to make sense when you live these aha moments. I have had several of these moments in my life. The crazy thing about aha moments is that they are usually the beginning … not the thing… but the beginning of something new. My most recent aha moment came with my writing. I stared at some of my musings and thought there is great potential in life. I can keep my thoughts to myself (and some should be kept to myself) but if I can express myself in these blogs with the encouraging and helpful thoughts then, I hopefully can encourage one or two people along the way.
That is potential.
Potential to take something rolling around in my noggin and express it to help others.
Potential to get thoughts from my head to paper (so to speak) and leave a legacy.
Another aha moment in my life came with the passing of my brothers. I was wallowing in self-pity, missing them and their presence and wasting precious minutes, days, and hours when suddenly it hit me. I am allotted only so many of these minutes, hours, and days so I should... must make the most out of these moments. I can feel sorry for myself and do no one any good or spend my precious time lifting others up and show them that this life is a gift, and we should use this gift to make a better place for our family and friends.
Well, that is my perspective, and I am moving forward to live my best life and leave a legacy like my brothers and so many others have left.
Tina's paintings lately have captured these aha moments in the faces of ladies she has painted. Someone will one day see their aha moment reflected in the image of her subject and identify with it and make that painting their own as a reminder of that moment in their lives when everything changed or became clear. This is what drives my amazingly talented wife to keep creating. To touch the lives of others and point them to the Creator.
Keep your eyes open for these aha moments my friends. And when you have one, take the time to think, “What can I do to make the world a better place with this thought?” “ How can I lift someone up that is having a rough time right now?” This will replace the mundane with purpose and with purpose we will all thrive, not just survive.
Ted