Reflection: Epiphany:  A moment when you suddenly see or understand something in a new or very clear way.

Ariana Huffington had an epiphany. She fell asleep at work, hit her head on the edge of her desk, sliced open her cheek, and came to in a pool of blood. One hospital trip and several stitches later, she set about changing her habits and adopting a saner, healthier way of being in this world.

Some years ago, I had an epiphany of my own. As a young Mom, I left the house on a deep freeze of a winter morning. Burdened by tote bag, gym bag, child’s backpack, briefcase, and clamping a wriggling snow-suited toddler in my arms, I tried in vain to lock a reluctant front door.

In the end, the entire load, including screaming daughter and me dropped to the step. Freezing tears streamed down our faces. In that moment of overwhelm, I knew there had to be a better way, and set about discovering what that might be.

Fictional news anchor Howard Beale had an epiphany. In the movie Network, he punctuates his on-air rant about the state of the world by declaring, “I‘m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore.”

Maybe you’ve had an epiphany or two of your own. Or maybe you’re working up to one at this very moment.

Epiphanies are rarely unheralded. If we pay close attention as life unfolds, we might notice the small occurrences that signal a need for change. But, heh, we’re busy, we’re preoccupied, and we’re on a roll! We get in a groove and it morphs into a rut that’s not apparent till it trips us up and down we go.

Action: The challenge is to tune into our ‘epiphanettes’ – those small wake up calls that surface day to day.

You yell at someone and later think that’s not like me at all! You surprise yourself by expressing a strongly negative opinion, and realize you didn’t even know you felt that way. You feel exhausted just contemplating the kind of opportunity that used to make your heart race with excitement.

As you make your way through the rest of the week, dial up your attention meter. Tune in your reactions and feelings. Notice your twinges and pinch points.

Ask yourself questions like these: Is this still working for me? What needs to change? What might be a first step in a more satisfying direction?

When we ignore life’s early warning signs, we are a walking epiphany in the making.

Quotes Of The Week: The wheel turns because we keep running. – Ann Burnett

When we ignore life’s early warning signs, we are a walking epiphany in the making.  – Patricia Katz

Resource Of The Week: Check out this Pauseworks Library article that highlights warning signs of stress: Overload Cues & Triggers For Action.

Readers Write: Some messages seem to touch more of a nerve than others. A lot of readers reacted to last week’s ezine on disconnecting from our technology:  Where Is Everybody? Where Are You?

Instead of just choosing one comment to feature here, I’ve posted a Summary of Reactions on the Pause Blog. Agree? Disagree? It’s an interesting conversation.