There is gradual change (characteristic of much of one's life), and then there are definitive moments, (in which one can clearly see a "before" and an "after").

"Before the birth of our daughter..."
"After we moved to Louisiana..."
"Since we got married..."
"Before my first heart attack..."
"After Hurricane Katrina...."

In the midst of a definitive moment, you sense it as such. You feel the weight of today because today is more different from yesterday, than yesterday from the day before.

But because it has the weight of (often) far-reaching consequence, does this necessarily make a definitive moment important? I might argue that importance is defined moreso by those (more frequent) moments that make up the gradual change of a lifetime, because it is within these day-to-day moments where one is able to choose the "best" action to advance Goodness. In the midst of a definitive moment, I believe urgency often trumps importance, and I believe urgency is often the enemy of importance. I believe it is not the definitive moment that is important, but rather one's day-to-day reactions following said moment.

In the sense that a definitive moment moves one in a different direction, it is important; but in and of itself, the definitive moment is more simply a series of urgencies.

Which appears to mean that one should consider planning for and initiating a definitive moment, with care. Of course some definitive moments, (such as sudden illness or accident), simply happen with little or no warning. And in one's youth, some definitive moments appear, (at least to a segment of the responsible adult world), as reckless or not well-thought-out.

Yet, looking back, I might argue that these haphazard definitive moments have more potential for learning and growth, than do the well-planned, responsible definitive moments. I might argue that too much care will diminish spontaneity; and fun. I might argue that too much constraint will lead to some level of stagnation; and quiescence.

I look around and see some responsible adults who are bored, and are second-guessing some choices... rethinking some planned definitive moments. I see in myself that many planned definitive moments did not live up to expectations. And though I would not wish upon anyone, (nor would I recommend), a hurricane, or a disability, or a heart attack, these are the definitive moments that in recent years have taken me in new and beneficial directions. And in my younger years, lacking experience, I find those (sort-of) planned definitive moments to be the most rewarding... my marriage... the birth of my children...

Innocence may be reckless, but I am finding it to be the better alternative.