Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Defining Moments



"At various points throughout life, we arrive at a crossroads, where our self-understanding and our understanding of the world around us are thrown into scrutiny.                               
Dr. Kevin Leman

I've always referred to these as "defining moments," when our idea of who we are and our place in the world is thrown into question.

They can come at the oddest of times, in seemingly innocuous circumstances. Yet, there it is - a moment that gives you reason to pause, to think, to consider, to rethink. On the other side of that, sometimes you come out a different person.

One of the things I've had on my "gonna do it at some point for my own good mental health" list for quite awhile is to list ten defining moments in life. I'm guessing there may be a pattern that emerges there. But, for reasons I can't explain I've never actually gotten around to making that list. I think it might start out with more than 10 and have to pared down. Not that there's any magic in 10. It could be 20 or three or seven.

What's reasonable? One per year of life? One for every five years of life? It's all arbitrary. But 10 seems like a good amount to see a pattern emerge.

I'll have to think about it some more, but I know at least a couple of things on my list would be:
1. Going to the University of Kentucky
2. Meeting Greg and being friends all these years
3. Traveling to Egypt alone

I'll think about it some more. Seems like an interesting exercise.
________________

Subscribe for free to Patsy's Ponderings in email or your choice of a reader.

Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, cooking and more. Find me on Facebook, Twitter, Plurk and other social media sites of your choosing.

All text and photos on this website are copyright Patsy Terrell, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. None are to be used without permission. Thank you.