Defining Moments

Defining Moments...we've all had them at one time or another in our lives.

I think it's fairly safe to say that there are two kinds of Defining Moments in a person's life.  The first kind is the more historical/pop cultural reference kind of moments such as "Where were you when President Kennedy was shot?" or "Where were you when man landed on the moon?" or "Where were you when you heard that Elvis/Princess Diana/Marilyn Monroe/Michael Jackson had died?" or "Where were you when one of the Kardashians broke a fingernail?".  These Defining Moments usually have a huge impact on society or the world as a whole and they serve as markers in our journey through life.

The second kind are the Life Defining Moments which are very personal; the kind that are embedded in our memories for the rest of our lives and are either wonderful "aaahhh" moments like how you felt watching the birth of your baby or the terrible punch-to-your-gut moments like "Where were you on 9/11?".  These are truly the moments/events that define who we were or who we are or will be moving forward in our lives.

Unfortunately, we've had far too many of the terrible Life Defining Moments recently in the form of senseless school shootings where parents are left struggling to rationalize or explain the violence to their children or worse yet, are left to go on with their lives amid the after-effects of carnage that should never have happened in a supposedly safe place of learning.  And let's not forget about the bombings, the most recent in Boston, during a marathon, of all things.  And why happen at all?  We may never really know the reasons why it happened...or why any of these acts of violence happen...only that they do happen.  It begs the question:  As a society, what are we doing wrong?