Unfolding Epiphanies

Today, the 6th of January, many Christians celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany. The 12 days of Christmas have come to an end, and the biblical story continues that wise men or kings (perhaps astronomers?) follow a star in the east to where the Christ child has been born. When they arrive, they offer him gifts.

Ironically, I have no big epiphanies to report this day. I'm trying to honor any small ones that occur to me in hopes that they might clear the way for larger ones down the road. Or perhaps over time the little ones will eventually add up to a big one? In any case, I have been pondering the gifts we have to offer as well as divine guidance and the ways it might manifest in 2014. 

I have enough difficulty with explicit directions from a GPS that it's hard to imagine following only the light of a star to an unknown destination. Then again, almost everything about living over 2000 years ago is hard to imagine. Tonight, there are record low temperatures and high winds across the country, and I cannot fathom being without a heater and other modern conveniences.

The light of a large star in the night sky is quite a subtle roadmap, don't you think? Even without competing light from electricity in big cities, a star would be easy to miss if you weren't really tuned it. And the journey of those wise men would have taken a very long time. Camels can run in brief bursts up to 40 mph, but mostly they move slowly.

Today, we think of an epiphany as a sudden revelation or insight--a lightning bolt or "ah ha" moment. The season of Epiphany, however, points to something profound yet also subtle, involving slow and steady progress toward a goal which remains shrouded in mystery.

We like quick and easy solutions, dramatic transformations, immediate results. But even in 2014 some things simply don't work that way. There are times when the best approach or only viable option is taking one deliberate step at a time. On those journeys, patience, tenacity, and discernment are important gifts.

I've written of my tendency to be more of a hare than a tortoise and my desire to better appreciate the value of slow-and-steady. But maybe the camel, with its ability to endure adverse conditions even while carrying heavy burdens, is a more accurate metaphor than the tortoise for my aspirations.

Whichever creature may provide the best vehicle, my sense is that this year's epiphanies are likely to ride in gradually rather than descending in a great flash of light. In order not to miss them, I want to cultivate the art of paying attention.

What are you noticing about the new year? Are your 2014 insights arriving as "ah ha" moments or more like unfolding epiphanies? Do you find yourself operating more slowly and deliberately when it's colder out? Historically, are you more of a tortoise or a hare... or perhaps a camel, inchworm, or something else? I'd love to hear from you in the comments.