Thousand Little Miracles

Regardless of where you live in the world, our stories and experiences are similar. Nations are facing similar crisis including global warming, cost of living, Covid Pandemic, disappointments with political leaders, crime and poverty rates, poor living conditions and the list goes on.

I came across this phrase in a Pinterest post which says, “Life is a series of thousands of tiny little miracles. Notice them”.

It is so easy to focus on the big issues of life and the daily inconveniences that we miss the little miracles that abound. The only way to not miss the little miracles is to pay attention and be grateful. When we pay attention, we notice them more and when we are grateful, we pay more attention.

Recently, I was about to catch a bus and assumed I would have to wait for the next one as I was still a good 25 to 50 yards away from the bus stop.

Somehow without me paying much attention to the bus, I realised the driver had clued up to the fact that I was gunning for the bus and they waited for me to catch it. As I thanked the driver, I was aware of the blessing of the moment.

We experience the first miracles of the day when we wake up, open our eyes and use the bathroom. First sets of miracles are that we are alive, we can see with our eyes, have the use of our legs and can use the loo.

If we consider that somewhere else, someone has called an ambulance because their loved one passed away, suffered a stroke or heart attack overnight.

People lose their sight or the use of their legs, need operations to reverse twisted colons and inability to pass urine. Suddenly you start to realise the number of miracles you’ve already received by the time you are brushing your teeth before going to that job that you might say isn’t exciting.

There is a greeting in Yoruba language, my native Nigerian language, that literally translated means, “we will wake up one by one.” The first time someone said the phrase to me, I found it funny and asked what they meant. And they explained it means we will wake up individually in our own time.

The only time that everyone gets woken up at the same time is when there is a crisis and a loud crisis-induced shout or alarm wakes everyone up. An attack, a fire, a break in, a sick relative are reasons for an alarm to be sounded that wakes everyone up simultaneously.

So when they pray and wish that each person would wake up individually, they are essentially praying there would be no calamity that would cause a unified wake-up call for the whole family. If you’ve ever been woken up by a fire alarm in the middle of the night while staying at a hotel, you would appreciate this blessing.

My mum always reminds me of being so poorly when I was young that she didn’t think I would be here. She recounts how my father would peek over the school fence three times during the working day just to ask if I was still breathing.

And during that period, she said my dad on his way home would be looking for signs of someone rushing towards him with the news that he dreaded and he would sometimes send someone home ahead of him to check and return to him with news. And his first question when he got home would be, “is she still breathing?” And my mum said she would respond, “she is”.

I don’t remember this, but every time I share an accomplishment with my mum, she would immediately refer to that time as she expresses her gratitude that my life was spared and I live today to do all the things that I do.

So it’s no wonder that my approach to life and my appreciation of life is rooted in knowing that everything about me and all that I have are miraculous.

This isn’t me saying life is perfect or without challenges or problems. It is me saying that each trouble we go through and challenge we overcome is filled with little miracles.

That some people are still standing despite what they’ve been through is a miracle. That you are depressed but managed to smile and get a coffee is a miracle and if we focus on one miracle at a time, we see more of them and the smiles become more frequent.

Pay attention to your little miracles and be grateful for them.

Thank you for reading my post. Have a wonder-filled week ahead and don’t forget to share this post with others.