It was a single moment that lingered. But in those seconds that ticked by, I was reunited with the most poignant rush of understanding and new found meaning as I sang words to a familiar song along with 50 other people. Time stopped. I could feel my voice failing, breath literally taken away as tears prickled and perched, threatening to escape.

  I understood the words I’d sung without ever giving much thought to how they applied to me.  As the new significance of these simple words poured over me, images of some of the most treasured moments of my life (thus far) appeared in my mind’s eye. Mountains from a far away land that I remember well, a girl sitting on a rock beside a rush of purest white water tumbling over boulders and rocks, winding gradually towards a tranquil village below. I used to go to that river...  I would sit silently. Worries and doubts would be washed away, replaced by a gentle peace and in those moments, my heart was remade.

 I've been thinking maybe some experiences become part of our DNA. Argue your point with me, maybe it’s not scientific fact, but I refuse to believe that the different things that happen to us become nothing more than a space marked "memory" or "emotional storage." Every once in a while (maybe more often than we like to admit) we are given a moment without a prescribed label that changes us.

  If an individual life were to be compared to a canvas or tapestry then it would be fair to say that the fabric of our lives is intricate, no matter how simple it may seem from far away. And every so often, vibrant threads weave themselves over and into what ultimately makes us who we are. They do more than shape our worldview; they become a part of us. More than just a precious memory, these moments are deeply imbedded and written into our being, like it was always meant to be.