BELIEVE IT OR NOT
If you are able – before reading the words below – do me a favor. Become a tourist in the space where you are at this moment. Pay attention to everyday ordinary sights, sounds, objects, and people around you as if you are seeing for the first time. Give life to the ordinary things that are coexisting with you. In the words of poet Natalie Goldberg, “awaken yourself to the specialness of simply being.”
I did this! I sat down with the intent to write. The evening before had been a bit bumpy and I intended to write my thoughts about the bumpiness. As the pen was poised to touch paper, I brought a cup of coffee to my lips and the floodgates of BEING were opened. Gratitude for the sense of taste slowly seeped into my consciousness, followed quickly by the recognition that I could feel the hot liquid on my tongue. Not only could I feel it, but muscles also activated swallowing it without a thought. The scent of the coffee had assailed my olfactory nerves as I poured it into the stainless-steel cup which I now held in my left hand. Not only could I feel the cup, but sight allowed me to also see it. By this time, I was totally engrossed in this exercise of being present with coffee, pen, and paper – all inanimate objects. I thought of the filtered water, coffee beans and honey, ingredients necessary to make the cup of coffee but without a coffeepot to heat and drip the water over the grinds, I would not have had my morning fix. Without electricity, the coffeepot would have been rendered useless. The litany of small inconsequential things grew long, and a spirit of thanksgiving overwhelmed me.
When I considered what aligns so that I could hold a cup of coffee in my left hand at 5 AM, I was left with one conclusion, COFFEE IS A MIRACLE. It is a miracle that happens every day that I am home. On this day I took the time to be aware of it.
Miracles are extremely outstanding or unusual events, or things, or accomplishments – all of which are subjective versus objective. The miracle of a cup of coffee is not unique to the cup of coffee. Appreciation for it, however, sparked a desire to examine how it came to be instead of simply accepting its presence. Your spark could be the athletic shoes that shod your feet while preparing to take a run in the wee morning hours. In the era of book banning, holding a book in hand may be the spark for an awareness of the miracle of words readily available for you to read. We can all get excited about the miracles of organ transplants or the ever-evolving search for a miracle cure of cancer and chronic diseases… the big miracles. Even these can go unrecognized by some. The seemingly little things that make up the routine of life are certainly underappreciated … that is until they are disrupted.
Taking a few minutes to stop and look critically at one activity of one’s day helps one develop awareness of ever-present miracles.
I have another request. Look around and make a list of items that you can see. Pick one thing and think of how it came to be a part of your life. In doing so, the inanimate object takes on life. I would call that an unusual event, a miracle.
PONDER THIS THOUGHT --- Albert Einstein, “There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle: you can live as if everything is a miracle.
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