I've always liked the Christian acknowledgement of Epiphany on January 6th. The Magi (the three Wise Men) are supposed to have arrived in Bethlehem 12 days after Jesus' birth and, giving him the gifts due to a monarch, thus proclaimed him to be a king.

As it was in that child, the Eternal is manifest in all of us, that is the message. We try to manifest the Light in ourselves by making resolutions, by meditating on the past, and turning our faces toward the future, resolved to shine our light on the world, each in her own way.

Mercantile interests have not yet found a way to make it a purchasing holiday, so it remains philosophical and profound, for which I am grateful.

We often use the word "epiphany" to indicate a flash of intuition, an "Aha!" experience, the light of understanding suddenly shining brightly in us for one incandescent moment.

Then it's back to the mundane, daily 9-to-5, with perhaps just a bit more insight than before--or, as has happened before, with an understanding that changes life forever.