Miracles

 As I continue to grow older each day, I have slowly become aware, increasingly it would seem, of the miracle that is life. And I don’t mean the miracle that is represented by some really smart dude who invents a new way to splice a gene, or Einstein positing the General Theory of Relativity. What’s that you ask? Well, Einstein was a seriously clever dude, and he asserted in his theory:

·         First, the natural world allows no “privileged” frames of reference. As long as an object is moving in a straight line at a constant speed (that is, with no acceleration), the laws of physics are the same for everyone. It’s a bit like when you look out a train window and see an adjacent train appear to move — but is it moving, or are you? It can be hard to tell. Einstein recognized that if the motion is perfectly uniform, it's literally impossible to tell — and identified this as a central principle of physics.

·         Second, light travels at an unvarying speed of 186,000 miles a second. No matter how fast an observer is moving or how fast a light-emitting object is moving, a measurement of the speed of light always yields the same result.

With this formation, Einstein transformed the study of physics. 

But no, I am not really thinking of such cleverness. I’m thinking of something even more amazing. Think on this. 

You are sound asleep, in a deep sleep, and not even dreaming. And then, slowly your mind begins its daily process of awakening. First, your brain becomes dimly aware, that is, it seems to spring into action, the action we call awareness. Then you become aware of sound, perhaps your loved one, still fast asleep next to you, begins making a sound.  Then you become aware of light within your surroundings, still dim, but the darkness has begun receding.

Then your eyes open a bit and you are awake.  And because your window is open, you hear some sounds of birds outside, or maybe just the soothing sound of a slow breeze moving the tree limbs and leaves.  Then perhaps the sound of water, because your pond’s bubblers are operating, moving water so as to increase the oxygen in the pond water to help your fish, Harriet and Nick and Nora.

And then slowly, the outside light begins to enhance your awareness. And you are awake, fully.  And then your day begins.

But then what happens, is that your brain kicks into action, and you begin communicating with your loved one, about the day’s beginning. And you start planning/chatting about the day’s beginnings, and what you see for the rest of the day.  And then, for most of the rest of your day, you engage in conversation, or you read the day’s news, or you listen to the radio. What all those activities mean is that you become preoccupied with events occurring or soon to occur, and you cease being aware of the world.  And that is neither good nor bad. It simply is our normal lives.

But as we go about our “normal lives” we seem less aware of this miracle I call life. That we have “eyes” and that those eyes bring visions to us of our surroundings. And that we have “ears”, and those things allow us to hear noises, some pleasant, some not so pleasant. And that, over time, as we age, our brains continue to accumulate bits of data that we convert into an understanding of this world, and our tiny role within this world.  See, I’m not speaking about politics and President Stupidhead, or about police shooting unarmed people of color. Or even about the carrots growing within our little garden outside.  No, I speak merely about light, and color, and sounds, and our ability to discern those things. And about our ability to stand up because we have two sturdy legs, and a brain that can tell those legs to operate in such a way that we actually arise from a seated position, and our body becomes slightly elevated. And then our brain tells our body to move forward.

Now this awareness is, I submit, a miracle. I call it that because the word has several meanings that convey my understanding of what is happening:

“1. an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs the healing miracles described in the Gospels

2: an extremely outstanding or unusual event, thing, or accomplishment”

Either explanation suits my understanding. I have no strong belief in the presence of a supernatural being that created this thing we call life, and the universe. I do not deny that there may be such a creature, but I have seen no evidence of such a thing. Nor has anyone else. But, I submit, whether there is a super being, or not, does not diminish or enhance my awareness of this miracle I call Life.  

I think we all might benefit by becoming more aware of just how miraculous is this thing we call Life.   That we often trivialize it seems obvious, since we collectively engage in group behaviors resulting in the termination of many lives. And think of that. We cause the ending of some life and its awareness. If we would begin to understand that life is a wonder, that it is precious, partly because we do not even begin to understand how it comes about, or what it means, perhaps we would not be so casual about taking actions to end Life.

I will continue to remain aware of this wonder, and I will cherish the marvels it represents. That I can daily, see life, the sky, the sun, trees, clouds, birds, other things we call humans. All this is amazing to me. I understand that it will end for me some day in the not too distant future, because I am old by any reasonable measure.  I do not understand what that will be like, perhaps because it will not be “like” anything I now understand.

But I do know, with all my heart, that life, all our lives, are precious, and that we need to remain aware of that simple fact.  Always know that fact. And each day, smile when you consider just how wonderful this gift is, this thing we call Life. A true Miracle, by any definition.