epiphany deja vu

Happy 12th day of Christmas, Little Christmas, feast of Epiphany.
The word always makes me think of James Joyce, who called it the "revelation of the whatness of a thing," the moment when "the soul of the commonest object ... seems to us radiant."
Lately, some of my brightest a-ha moments have reminded me of Yogi Berra.
Just when the flash of insight burns brightest, a tickle around the edges seems to feel strangely familiar, until I realize -- say, wait just a minute! -- that it's one I've had before.
An epiphany deja vu.
At first I worried it was a sign of dwindling memory, a hint of the creep of Old Age. Now I think it's just the circular nature of big lessons. You can't always Get It from a straight-line POW! Sometimes wisdom eddies around you, maybe in smaller and smaller circles, until you really Get It. Or, at least until the next one flickers around the bend.