Yes, but...

 "The years teach a lot that the days never know" is this week's quotation, by Unitarian and Transcendentalist, Ralph Waldo Emerson. I love his writings and never thought I would find myself disagreeing with him. But this time, I do. At least in part...

I agree with him, in so far as the longer we live, the more it is possible to learn. And that hopefully, if we use our time, minds and souls well, we will benefit from the learning. And that it is not possible to learn about all the aspects of anything in a very short time - months and years of familiarity and study are needed.

Here comes the "but". I find that there are transcendental days, transcendental moments, transcendental experiences, which can change our lives forever, in what seems like an instant. I'm talking about the sudden spark of inspiration or understanding which comes like a bolt from the blue and we realise something new and startling about our world. Those moments when, after we have experienced them, life is forever divided into "before" and "after". 

Let me share some examples from my own life. 

• The moments that my son and daughter were born and I experienced instant and life-changing love for them. It was almost like a physical jolt through my body - I was consumed by it. 
• My first sight of the Jungfrau soaring white and beautiful into the blue sky of Switzerland, at the age of 13 - I had never seen anything so beautiful, so awe-inspiring. 
• Watching the BBC documentary The War Game at a CND meeting in the late 1970s and really understanding for the first time how evil nuclear weapons are.
• A less lofty moment - plunging into an ice-cold lake for a naked swim and feeling so very alive.
• Many instances of reading books which changed how I thought, what I believed about life and my place in it.

I am sure that you will be able to think of your own Eureka moments. So yes, Mr. Emerson, the years do teach a lot, but the days and the moments can as well.

I would love to know what your Eureka moments have been...