ordinary |ˈôrdnˌerē|

adjective

1 with no special or distinctive features; normal : he sets out to depict ordinary people | it was just an ordinary evening. See note at normal .

• uninteresting; commonplace : ordinary items of everyday wear.


My ipod has over 6,000 songs the majority of them I know.  When I  drive I sometimes put on ‘shuffle songs’ which reveals tunes never heard until now. Some of them are unappealing (Someone likes tunes by a Mr. Eninem, whose nasty lyrics make my eyes cross) but a few turn out to be gems.

Today I heard a woman singing “Ordinary Miracle”. I forget the actual lyrics for I was in heavy traffic at the time.  I liked the idea. She was singing how she encounters everyday marvelous things most people miss because they are mundane. It got me thinking….

 

Every morning I wake up which is a sort of miracle in itself. I’ve been granted another day of life. It gives me pause for thanks.

I often observe the sun rise as I drive to work. Sunrise too is a sort of ordinary miracle – our staid planet keeps turning; we haven’t blown it up (yet).

Most of my job consists of getting patients to wait out this or that illness or crisis, for the body is remarkable at healing itself if we don’t interfere with its healing process. It is absolutely amazing how our body works; considering all that can go wrong with it, the human body remains one of the most astounding machines in Nature.

The companionship of a dog is also a miracle. Many species have evolved together in harmony, but this pairing has love.

Spo-fans will snicker a bit perhaps, but a cup of tea is a miracle. The tea plant could not be better designed. Tea is mildly addicting (so it is coveted), stimulating (so it benefits, not harms, the mind), and it is full of good things for health. The preparation and drinking of tea are linked with social intercourse (very good or our health indeed). Finally it is one of the great drink ‘bargains’, so it is readily available to all.

And then there is sunset with the subsequent stars of the night skies.  Although I have seen them every night for nearly 50 years, they still touch upon the Numinous.

Ordinary Miracles. The day is full of them. Stop and notice.