Aha Moments

Last week I wrote about Duh Moments, but I much prefer Aha Moments - moments of clarity, inspiration, and understanding.  Aha! I get it.  Aha! I know what to do.  Aha! I am wiser as of this moment.

Some Aha Moments are too personal to share in an article like this (no offence – if you’ve had them you know what I mean).  Some are profound and life-changing.  Others are like insightful splotches of light on the sometimes foggy path of life.

I experienced an unusual Aha Moment in high school when I was having trouble in math.  I studied and worked at it, but the light bulb remained off.  So I went to bed.  While sleeping, I dreamed of the concept I was having difficulty with.  In my dream the math made perfect sense, and when I awoke the clarity remained.  Aha! I could do it.

Most of my Aha Moments follow a pattern:  After serious thought, study, and contemplation, the ‘bing!’ comes suddenly during a quiet moment when my mind is relaxed – often while doing dishes, taking a bath, lying in bed just before or after sleep, or while enjoying the tranquility of nature.

Unfortunately, we live in a very noisy and busy world – conditions that are not conducive to regular Aha Moments.  Music, information, and electronic blips and bleeps come at us from every angle, requiring us to make a concerted effort to turn off these distractions if we want to think properly.

To be tossed on the winds of media and popular opinion is a frightening thing.  We need those grounding, directional Aha Moments.  Regularly.  So let’s turn off the iPhones, find someplace quiet, and take time to ponder the questions of our hearts.  If we listen, the answers will come.  Aha!