Week 18: A Tiny Miracle
“a tiny miracle”
Collage, cut New Yorker magazine, 12 x 9
I believe in miracles.
Do we all have that song in our heads now? “You sexy thing, you sexy thing, you!”
Pretty miraculous that so many people can share a common pop-culture language. Pretty miraculous this computer I’m writing on. These hands that are typing, these eyes that are seeing—all of it is miraculous to me. That we are spinning on a giant planet, tiny in this infinite cosmos. That there are black holes in the cosmos—and whatever it is on the other side of those black holes. Mysterious and miraculous! I’m here for it.
If you subscribe to my blog, first, thank you! Second, you already know from last week’s email that I wrestled with Inner Critic Ursula a bit before deciding to take a week off from my self-imposed art challenge. Not because I was burned out or lacking inspiration, but because I was feeling the heaviness of the world. I was one-third of the way through my self-imposed art challenge, and it seemed as good a time as any to take a mental health week.
INNER CHEERLEADER JULES: Good for you! If you don’t take care of yourself, how will you ever be able to be of service to others?
ME: Thank you.
INNER CRITIC URSULA: Yeah, how IS that mental health, anyway?
ME: Zip it.
URSULA: (Pulls a drag from her Pall Mall.)
ME: I’m still working on it.
And I am. I could sit here and list all the shitty-ass things that are happening in the world right now that are making me feel a bit raw, a bit sad, a bit out of control, a bit self-judgy for not being able to fix it all. But I know everyone has their own list, so I won’t bother.
During the past two weeks, I’ve made a conscious effort to turn my attention to less shitty-ass stuff. Not to bury my head in the sand, but to re-center myself. To get out of my head, out of the muck and mire.
The quickest and easiest way for me to do that is to go outside. Get out in nature. When I do, I feel a shift almost instantly. I know it sounds hippy-dippy, but when I’m in nature, I feel at home, hugged, supported, refreshed. I look around and see tiny miracles everywhere. I am reminded that I am part of a much larger weave, this giant miracle of Creation.
Right now, when I walk outside my door, I am blessed with the miracle of tea olive. This tiny, elusive blossom has a mighty scent, and it shows up every September. It’s my favorite smell in the whole wide, wide world, and it’s a miracle how one whiff takes me right back to memories of playing outside as a child. It’s an instant mood-booster. Miraculous.
It’s also miraculous how we cohabitate with little creatures, even in urban settings. Just today I saw a bunny in my own front yard. And all summer long, as Walking Buddy Wanda and I were out and about on our favorite routes, we never ceased to be amazed by any bluebird sighting we had. A tiny miracle.
“First Date” by Ivan Brunetti
The New Yorker, September 16, 2019
I wasn’t really thinking about the Bluebird of Happiness symbol as I made this week’s collage. I just saw the blue and orange in this week’s New Yorker and thought I could add to my bird collection. (See the Owl from Week 5.)
But it seems fitting, as I am actively seeking to raise my own vibration—to feel better, to remember my Oneness with All That Is—that I would gravitate toward the creature known as a harbinger of happiness. A tiny miracle.
I still don’t necessarily feel like singing and dancing in the rain, but I can create a little piece of beauty out of a magazine—a tiny miracle of creation. I still may not be able to control the world around me, but I can focus my mental energy toward healing and wholeness for the planet and all life force upon it, including myself. And I can let go of control. A not-so-tiny miracle.
I can’t see the whole weave of Creation, but I know that there is one. And I am One with the weave AND the weaver. I don’t have to know what the tapestry looks like, but I’m pretty sure it is stunningly miraculous.
I hope you are finding miracles—big and tiny—in your world. I consider it a miracle that you and I found each other. Thanks for being part of my world.
THIS WEEK’S FEATURED CARTOON
