All is a Miracle

I like to walk alone on country paths, rice plants and wild grasses on both sides, putting each foot down on the earth in mindfulness, knowing that I walk on the wondrous earth. In such moments, existence is a miraculous and mysterious reality. 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
The Miracle of Mindfulness

Yesterday I decided to walk mindfully around my house. As I am recovering from surgery, I can't "do" much of anything I love ~ Yoga, walking, gardening, and such. But the thought entered quietly, inhale, lift the foot, feel the foot floating through space; exhale, feel toes and foot touch the floor. Sometimes we do this mindfulness practice in class or on retreat. The beach is a perfectly lovely place! For now it is simply the place where my feet gently touch whatever is beneath them...

When you have traveled too fast

You have traveled too fast over false ground;

Now your soul has come to take you back.

Take refuge in your senses, open up

To all the small miracles you rushed through.

Become inclined to watch the way of rain

When it falls slow and free.

Imitate the habit of twilight,

Taking time to open the well of color

That fostered the brightness of day.

Draw alongside the silence of stone

Until its calmness can claim you.

Be excessively gentle with yourself.

Stay clear of those vexed in spirit.

Learn to linger around someone of ease

Who feels they have all the time in the world.

Gradually, you will return to yourself,

Having learned a new respect for your heart

And the joy that dwells far within slow time.

John O’Donohue

This is just a portion of a poem entitled "For One Who Is Exhausted."  I find refuge in the image of my soul coming to take me back. There are times when we all move too fast and miss the small miracles that are always nearby.  Why not come into the present moment and the "joy that dwells far within slow time?"

The Miracle

I have arrived.

That is my insight when I breathe in and make two steps.

I have arrived, I have arrived.

Peacefully, gently, but very determined.

We have been running for all our life, it is now time to stop.

If you are not capable of stopping,

how can you enjoy touching the earth with your feet?

The miracle is not to walk on water or on fire,

the miracle is to walk on earth,

and any one of us can perform this miracle.

The miracle is to walk on earth,

that is a statement made by the Zen master Lin Chi, or Rinzai.

If you can establish yourself in the here and the now,

and make a step and touch the wonders of life in the here and the now, you are performing the miracle.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

This is the perfect time of year to remember to slow down. We can become so busy and caught in the hectic pace of the holidays that we forget the miracle of touching the earth with each step. The wonder of life is all around us! Miracles are everywhere!

Why not take a moment to just notice the gentle flow of the breath and choose to feel the miracle of being alive?