Three Places to Find Miracles

This week ushers in the New Moon of Sagittarius. 

Although the days are shorter and the azure skies are gradually turning light blue, this is actually a month of thrilling power. It’s a month of unlimited possibilities, of adventure, and miracles.

The word miracle is defined by Merriam Webster as “a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency.” Real miracles surround us every day. We just need to know where to look for them. 

Here are three good places to start looking for and looking at the miracles in your own life.

The miracle of everyday

Our days are defined by routine. We wake up, brush our teeth, grab a coffee and breakfast, send the kids to school, go to work (maybe just taking a few steps into our home office these days), eat lunch, reunite with the kids, have dinner, draw baths, oversee homework, read bedtime stories and then, it’s lights out. Until the next day. Seems banal when you list it in that way, but look a little deeper. It’s filled with miracles.

First, we wake up!  How fortunate are we to have 24 hours in front of us to start anew? Every day is an opportunity to try something new, to learn, to grow. We have food on the table, and the children are able, healthy, and ready to learn. We have a roof over our heads where we can share bedtime stories and goodnight hugs that will be remembered (and passed down as a nighttime tradition) as a quiet parent/child moment together. There is hope for the future in the day-to-day routine of finishing up homework, a necessary step in educating children, and making them a bit more independent. These are all meaningful steps in our lives together.

The mere fact that we can do all of this, day in and day out, is a true miracle. It’s not the shining panacea of sudden fortune falling in our lap; it’s the fact that we can live, breathe, love, learn, change, and thrive. Every. Single. Day.

The miracles we take for granted

“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child—our own two eyes. All is a miracle.” Thich Nhat Hanh, The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation

‘The real miracle is to walk on earth.” How simple and so profound. When we venture outside, do we look around and see such wonder and connect to the miracle of this earth? Just taking a walk in the city park exposes us to nature, cleaner air, verdant paths that—along with the exercise—help clear our minds and keep us healthy. In fact, in an article published by the Yale School of the Environment, author Jim Robbins references a study that found people who spent two hours a week in green spaces (like local parks or other natural environments) were substantially more likely to report good health and psychological well-being than those who don’t. The effects cut across different occupations, ethnic groups, and people with chronic illnesses and disabilities. 

We know just getting outdoors is good for us, but to quantify two hours per week outside will actually improve our health significantly? 

Again: another miracle.

“It was possible that a miracle was not something that happened to you, but rather something that didn’t.” Jodi Picoult, The Tenth Circle

The miracle of things that never happened

Here are a couple of mine

• I have four healthy children. I am so grateful they’re strong, athletic, and able to walk and run through life. 
• My husband and I have meaningful work that inspires and humbles us. We learn something new and aspire to be better people every day. We found our calling early in our lives and never wavered in following our passion.

This year has challenged each of us in so many ways. The good news is during this month, the energy of Sagittarius helps us shift our perspective toward seeing the good in our world. It’s not always easy; indeed, it can be difficult to rewire our brains. But this month gives us help toward that shift to recognize the subtle, everyday miracles that infuse our lives in hope and divine light.

Rethink Moment:

We are all walking through this miracle we call life. Our days are filled with mundane events that, if you look closely, aren’t so mundane after all. Each morning of this month, write down the miracle you recognize that day. You’ll be surprised how they add up!