Albert Einstein is said to have said: “There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”
Lately, I’ve been playing a game with myself. I look for miracles in everything I do and in everything that happens around me. The fun thing, the exciting thing that happens, is that I find them. I find them in the synchronicity and serendipity of the smallest things.
Last January, I wrote a blog about it, I witnessed a miracle. Hundreds of starlings staged a spectacular performance in my backyard. It was a sweeping panoramic production. From the time it began, or that I became aware of it, only minutes passed and it was over. We were left there with our mouths open, mute, in wonder. What just happened? I’m convinced that things like this are happening all around us. We are just not aware of them.
One evening, recently, my husband and I had a busy afternoon and evening and as everything wrapped up he commented “this would be a good time to go to Nielson’s” and disappeared into his office. About 9:30 p.m., I peeked in and asked “were you serious?” “Not really, but, yes!” 30 minutes later we were out the door. Nielson’s closes at 10:30 p.m. We talked about going through the drive-thru or sitting out on their patio, going inside or ordering at their walk-up window.
As we ordered, a friend from Oregon recognized us. He had ordered inside but Nielson’s doesn’t take credit cards, so was on his way to a ATM. What are the odds? He had been introduced to Nielson’s on his LDS mission in his twenties. Being in Salt Lake on business, he couldn’t resist driving up to Bountiful (Nielson’s Concrete is afterall a local institution) for ice cream. He almost aborted the trip on the freeway…..it’s late, it’s a long drive for an ice cream, etc. But, there he was and there we were at the same place and the same time. We marvelled at the circumstances that had brought us there together. We sat and ate ice cream/concrete and talked long after Nielson’s closed.
Not really a miracle, more of a coincidence…..you say? We run into old friends in odd places all of the time. I used to believe in coincidences. But not anymore. Now I believe that everything is a miracle. And…..I see more of them everyday. It’s FUN!