I have this quote on my bathroom wall. For me, it’s a reminder as I go about the day to actively cultivate the states of gratitude and awe. These are states that science has shown have huge and wide ranging benefits for our mind, body and wellbeing.

 

There's no doubt , gratitude is good for us. Really, really good for us! 

But the feeling of gratitude doesn't happen by accident. 

 

It’s so easy to get blasé about life. 
To take simple, and even big things for granted. 

Sometimes, especially when we're going through a challenge, it can feel impossible to drum up the feeling of gratitude. 

 

One way to feel gratitude is to see life as a miracle.

 

I’d like to share with you a passage from the book ‘Living Untethered’ by Michael Singer, to help you get a glimpse of the profoundness of life, and the fact that you're here experiencing life.

 

It's a fun and thought provoking story - I hope you'll take a read ...

 

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The universe is a phenomenal system of cause and effect. What was, causes what is; what is, causes what will be. This has been happening from the beginning of time throughout the universe. Every single moment in front of you took billions of years with everything happening exactly like it did to manifest as it is. 

 

To fully understand what this means, it helps to look at a simple example of family history. If your great-great-great-grandfather didn’t meet your great-great-great-grandmother, you’re not here. That’s the simple truth. Let’s take a moment to tell a story of how they met, so you can see how dependent everything is on everything else.

 

The story begins all the way back with the dinosaurs. After a fierce storm in what is now South Central Florida, there was a big dinosaur lumbering around. When this dinosaur put its big footprint down into the wet soil, it caused a gigantic imprint in the mud. Over time, rain water accumulated in this deep imprint, and the earth began to erode around it. Eventually, the water area grew so large it became what we now call Lake Okeechobee. 

 

Millions of years later, the Mayaimi tribe settled by that lake because of the fresh water, fish, and other animals. Centuries passed, and Spanish settlers built a small town on the edge of the lake. Your great-great-great-grandmother was a descendant of the Mayaimi, and your great-great-great-grandfather was visiting the small Spanish settlement.

 

One day while it was pouring rain around the lake, your great-great-great-grandfather was drinking in the local saloon. He was so drunk when he stepped out of the saloon, he never noticed your great-great-great-grandmother walking by sopping wet. He just stumbled down the stairs falling drunk to the ground, your great-great-great-grandmother slipped in the mud and fell right on top of him. Well, they looked at each other, started laughing, and it was love at first sight. The rest is history.

 

In other words, if the dinosaur hadn’t walked there millions of years ago, and if the Mayaimi tribe hadn’t settled there, and if the Spaniards hadn’t built a town there, and if it hadn’t been raining that day, and if grandpa hadn’t fallen down drunk at the exact spot where grandma slipped in the mud - you’re not here, and neither are a lot of other things. Every single thing is the result of every single thing that ever happened throughout time and space.

 

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We all have a story like this that explains our own personal existence. 

 

Some people will choose to shrug their shoulders and think so what, big deal. (In other words, from Einstein’s quote - living life as though nothing is a miracle).

 

Other people will choose to marvel at the miracle and wonder of their existence, they’ll take the story above and use it to feel awe and gratitude for the fact that they are here. (They live life as though everything is a miracle).

 

Which one will you choose?

 

What other miracles can you find to marvel at and feel grateful for this week?

 

Happy miracle hunting!

Nadine