Hope is a powerful thing. When life brings you down, when you feel like the darkness is closing in, I believe that a little reminder of the extraordinary things in life can help to rekindle and sustain your sense of hope, to remind you that the light is always there, even if it seems a bit dim and distant right now.
Do you believe in miracles? Many cultures believe that a miracle is something extraordinary, something that seems impossible and unexplainable from our human perspective. There is certainly no definitive answer to this question, just an individual belief and experience.
And just what qualifies as a miracle? Again, this depends on your culture. Personally,
I think that we are surrounded by awe-inspiring miracles every moment of the day. And I’ve realized that noticing and appreciating these extraordinary things happening every minute of every day is a way to cultivate an optimistic, hopeful mindset, to bring comfort and strength in difficult times.
These everyday miracles remind us that everything we hope for is possible. You just need to be fully in the present moment to notice them.I invite you to try a very easy mindfulness “miracle-hunting” practice.
- To start, find a place to sit (or stand), anyplace.
- Take a few deep breaths to settle and ground yourself, inhaling and exhaling, before coming back to your natural breathing.
- And then just feel. Just look, with new eyes, like you’ve never experienced this sensation or seen this before.
- Pay careful attention to your mind, your body, explore your surroundings with curiosity and an open heart/open mind.
- Notice all the beautiful things, big and small, that maybe you’ve always taken for granted.
- See them now with new eyes, with wonder and awe.
- Could the ordinary possibly be something rather extraordinary? Even if we know the explanation and the science behind it? Think about that. Maybe it’s actually a little miracle. It’s all in your perspective.
After a few minutes of this mindfulness practice, try to be present to all the miracles that you find throughout your day. Simply marvel at what you discover, at the seemingly ordinary things that are actually quite extraordinary. If you feel like it, you can make a mental list of your miracles or write it down in your journal which would be a wonderful place to come back to if you need a little boost to your sense of hope.
When you start to see and appreciate these everyday miracles, you will see them everywhere. And I guarantee you that your heart will sing.
Here are a few things that I consider to be extraordinary everyday miracles.
- The unique beauty of a single perfect snowflake
- The glorious and ever-changing colours in the sky at sunset
- The splendour of a rainbow after the rain
- Everything about trees seems miraculous to me
- The life-giving yet often unnoticed process of breathing…our always-present anchor
- The complex process of our gently beating heart, our life force
- The power our body has to heal itself
- The power that plants have to heal our body
- A creative mind…where DO all those ideas come from?
- The kindness and generosity of others
- Human life itself, the fact that we are intelligent, creative, emotional beings
- The unimaginable scope of the stars, the galaxy, the universe and beyond
What miracles will you discover today?
