In life, we tend not to believe in somethings unless we experience them personally. Miracles are one of those things. Of course, I grew up listening to fairy tales during my childhood. My uncle was a whiz at embellishing them and stretching them out for days together. Up to a point, I believed in the fairy tales, probably because they were cozy, they mostly had happy endings and of course, I am very fond of my uncle.
As I grew older, I think I stopped believing in miracles. I mean, life got hectic and there was always more to do than time available to do it. Even though I took time off to pause, life was hectic.
You must have heard that Zen story of the man on the horse. One day, a horse suddenly came galloping down the road. It looked like the man on the horse had to reach some place in a hurry. His friend, who saw him passing by, shouted, 'Where are you going?' and the man on the horse shouted back, "I don't know. Ask the horse."
We are like the man on the horse, rushing from task to task. We have meetings to go to, people to meet and things to do all the time. Our life is one long series of obligations. We get so caught up with this that we forget to recognize the miraculous in everything we do and the people we interact with.
The truth is, miracles are everywhere, even though we take most things for granted. We are so blasé about life and look at everything with jaded eyes. As a result, we only see what's on the surface and judge things based on our previous experiences. And we never get the opportunity to see the unique side of things-for the miracles they are.
You might ask-what is the big deal? Are we not getting along absolutely fine without seeing the miraculous in everything? Why should we suddenly change?
The answer is-why just exist when you can live?Why not enjoy every experience we go through and make the most of it, instead of just touching the surface?
Why let life get so rushed that we make it a habit to just brush past things, by being presumptuous, assuming that we already know all there is to know?
Life is a miracle, if we chose to view it that way. Right from that coffee with a friend, to the work we do, that cab we traveled in to reach somewhere on time, the flight we take that transports us within minutes or hours over hundreds of miles, the beautiful roads we travel on, to the home we live in with electricity, gas and other amenities, our family with whom we share special relationships -everything is a miracle.
So imagine how it would be if we took the time to practice living life from miracle to miracle. Surely, we would get more out of life? How about coming up with strategies to recognize and appreciate the numerous miracles we see and experience on a daily basis?
"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."
Albert Einstein
Points to ponder:
- Why do we find it so easy to miss the miraculous in life and so difficult to recognize them?
- What miracles do you recognize in your life, right now?
- How can we create the habit of living life from miracle to miracle?
Wednesday Wisdom is a series with short bursts of easy-to-consume wisdom in the form of stories, quotes, anecdotes, reflections, easy meditation, thought-provoking questions and humor."You can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one. Each day is a different one, each day brings a miracle of its own. It's just a matter of paying attention to this miracle."
