Miraculous

I am not much of a fan of miracles. I have witnessed one or two, and read about a lot. Maybe its my overzealous imagination, but they just don’t “wow” me like they should. Also, I think people waiting for miracles are missing the point.

But today is one of those glorious fall days – its still mid seventies outside but the leaves have turned and the sky has that gray quality that makes the sunlight a soft yellow. It feels foggy even though there is a blue sky. And something about fall feels so poignant to me that I am thinking about miracles today.

Here is the short list of what I find miraculous. I hope the list keeps growing, but any of these are enough to keep me impressed with the wonder in the world.

-forgiveness – hands down, without a doubt, the most miraculous and amazing thing on the planet.

-the planet – or rather, the exact combination of physics, chemistry, and geography that makes life on this planet possible

-conception – I know the birds and the bees part. But really, how does that process make life? The sperm gets in, and oila, baby.

-dying – one moment you are alive, the next you are not. We’ll never know what its like.

-that no one dies in the safeway parking lot – its madness in there!

-that two siblings can come from the same parents, live in the same house, and turn out so entirely different

-boyness and girlness (read Tomboy post)

-water – have you ever studied this stuff? It’s pretty special. It’s the only substance that expands when it freezes, instead of contracting. It has a super high heat quotient (how much heat it takes to which physical states). It has great surface tension. It refracts light. Its edible. The number of aspects that make our living state possible – as well as fun (puddles, snow cones, rainbows, bubble baths, swimming) – that are related to properties of water are amazing.

And that’s about it. Email me if you have something on your Miraculous List, I’d love to hear about it.