Miracles

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

My vacation has just about ended, and I have to admit, it was far different than I had originally planned.  Before taking my leave, all I could think about was spending the week lounging around in my flannels, never leaving the house, drinking hot cocoa loaded with marshmallows , watching Christmas flicks on the Hallmark channel, and catching up on my reading.  But, it certainly  didn't go the way it had been planned... but you won't hear any complaints from me.   Just about every day...in fact, every day except for  Wednesday when we had the storm, I found a reason to get dressed and get out of the house...and each day, brought something new and wondrous to behold.  I've been missing out on so much....

...Take yesterday, for example.  I had some packages to mail, so it was off to the post office.  I had thought of calling a cab because the post office  is actually a subway stop away, and the bag was heavy.  I could actually have taken the subway, but I just didn't have it in me to climb all those steps...so, I decided to walk.  If I ran into problems, I could always set the bag down and rest,  and besides, I have a cell phone now.  If need be, I could call a cab, but that didn't happen.  Instead, I ended up spending some quality time in the park. The sun wasn't out, and the day was actually kind of gloomy, and there was quite a chill in the air;  the sky actually held that  look of snow...although I knew it was still too warm.  But, it was nice to close my eyes and imagine the snow gently falling on my cheeks. Cold as it was, it was an enjoyable time.   In summer, there is usually so much hustle and bustle in the park that it is virtually impossible to totally relax , but in the winter, all the children are all in school, and there is a lot of peace and serenity.  

Ah, yes, winter!  I love it so much better than the summer's heat.  I always say you can always pile on the clothes to get warm, but you can't always cool off.  And, there is nothing quite like the sight of a winter morn.... the sun rising over the horizon , the tree branches covered in a dusting of fresh powdery snow. The neighborhood has a continuous white blanket beginning to glimmer and sparkle as morning sun takes it's position in the sky, and if the sun is  not out, what you see is the world in a beautiful shade of gray....making the morning all that more mysterious.  And, as you take in the view, it's as if all your worries are forgotten for awhile for all you can focus on is the calm of the morning and the warmth of your home as you press your hand up against the frosty window. There is no one around...just the cardinals frolicking about and the squirrels leaving their  marks in the snow before anyone else can... 

....but,  before long, we tire of the cold and once again  begin to look towards spring, a time when rebirth occurs. Then arrives Summer, and once again,  everything is in full bloom. All the trees have a head full of green color.  And before we know it, Autumn arrives; this is the time when everything begins to wind down as nature gives us a beautiful  show of colors from the trees;  the  animals begin to find it's place to hibernate, and we once again begin to prepare for the festivities, to prepare for the cold weather that is to come. Finally, we arrive in winter where silence becomes to become apparent. The trees stand tall fighting against the cold, he animals are now snugly hidden away waiting for clearance to come out again. 

This is the true miracle...the miracle of life...of the cycle birth, death, and rebirth. Everything we know has cycles.  Nature in all its finery shows us the way; she shows us the cycles of life. And, yes, that is truly a miracle.  And when it is all said and done,  humanity, too,  and our cycle of life,  is just a part of nature as well.  That makes us a miracle as well.  All is a miracle, and all is well.

Nature gives to every time and season some beauties of its own;
and from morning to night, as from the cradle to the grave,
it is but a succession of changes so gentle and easy
that we can scarcely mark their progress.

--Charles Dickens--