Steve has an old, well-worn, multi-Post-It-notated book called Character Strengths and Virtues by Christopher Peterson and Martin E.P. Seligman. It may be a book written primarily for those studying psychology or social work, but to a writer, it’s an interesting study of “character.”

The character virtues covered in the book include:

• Wisdom and Knowledge
• Courage
• Humanity
• Justice
• Temperance
• Transcendence

The virtue most interesting to me today is Transcendence, which includes the following strengths:

• Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence (Awe, Wonder, Elevation)
• Gratitude
• Hope (Optimism, Future-Mindedness, Future Orientation)
• Humor (Playfulness)
• Spirituality (Religion, Faith, Purpose)

Character Strengths and Virtues defines Transcendence as:

. . . the common theme running through these strengths of transcendence [listed above] is that each allows individuals to forge connections to the larger universe and thereby provide meaning to their lives. Almost all of the positive traits in our classification reach outside the individual — character, after all, is social in nature — but in the case of the transcendence strengths, the reaching goes beyond other people per se to embrace part or all of the larger universe.

I’m drawn to this virtue at this time because of a time in my life I’m currently writing about in my memoir, which is my first love. This was a time of transcendence for me, and it’s been a challenge to write about it in a way that is not cliche. Here’s an excerpt:

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Dad drove away, and I felt a rush of excitement as Blake and I walked into the Chapala’s. I’d been on outings with groups of friends before. There may have been a boy in the group I had a crush on, because after all, I was a little boy-crazy.

But this night with Blake was my first real date, and though I felt anxious and awkward, I was flying three feet off the ground, flitting and floating on a breeze of unexpected freedom, as if I had broken through the tough skin of a cocoon that had once held a girl defined as a daughter, an oldest sister, a friend.

Like a chrysalis, I’d left my father’s car, and suddenly, unexpectedly, I was transformed. I was, of course, still a daughter, a sister and a friend. But I’d also become “one” in the equation of 1 + 1 = 2. I’d grown wings to fly and I basked in new, beautiful colors cast upon me by my metamorphosis.

That night, it didn’t matter how long the feeling would last. The moment of transformation felt glorious.

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I can think of other moments of transcendence in my life:

• The birth of my children, when I suddenly felt a new soul in the room.
• The death of a loved one, when I felt the real meaning of the words, “never” and “forever”
• The deaths of each of my parents, when I felt Earth had lost a soul.
• When I’ve stared out over the ocean or across the Grand Canyon, or at a solar eclipse and felt my insignificance.

Transcendent moments are wondrous moments that make me feel the bigness of life outside of myself. They bring me truth that whisks me away from the silly little stories that swirl around in my brain.

What are some of your transcendent moments?