Just like Christmas is always on December 25, so Epiphany is always on January 6. We’ve finished the twelfth night of the Christmas season and move on to the season of Epiphany.
I always loved the idea of epiphanies — those great ah-ha-s. Epiphanies were a big deal for Stephen Daedalus in James Joyce’s Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, one of my favorites of the “great books.”
Epiphany, beyond the capitalized version of the religious holiday, according to Merriam Webster (at http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/epiphany :
2 Â Â an appearance or manifestation especially of a divine being
3 Â a (1) : a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something (2) : an intuitive grasp of reality through something (as an event) usually simple and striking (3) : an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure b : a revealing scene or moment
Such illuminations are indeed possible — especially using the writer’s toolkit. It’s a matter of paying attention to what is there, as one friend says, “Notice what you notice.”
Together throughout 2011, we will explore the many possibilities for synergies, legacies, epiphanies.
Here’s to Love, Peace, Joy …
and Epiphanies filling your 2011 to the brim!