From a certain perspective, nothing is ordinary. No matter where we are right now or what is happening around us: we are inhaling oxygen, exhaling carbon dioxide, atop a giant round orb rotating in pitch black, known to us as “space”. We don’t know really know if we “existed” before we were born or in what capacity we’ll “exist” after we die.

It’s all very interesting! It’s all a mystery. When we begin to embrace the mystery of being alive, we can begin to see that everything we encounter is part of this mystery. Even when life is hard, It’s still all very interesting.

Part of what’s kept us going as a species for many hundreds of thousands of years is our adaptability. But this same quality, which is valuable in some circumstances, can keep us blind or adapted to the “ordinary miracles” all around us. When we look at everything as though it is a miracle or a gift, we begin to awaken to the inherent intrigue, inside of everything, and often even beauty.

What was once mundane can become fascinating.

This poem invites us to reflect on “ordinary miracles.”

Breath

Beneath the intricate network of noise
there’s a still more persistent tapestry
woven of whispers, murmurs and chants

It’s the heaving breath of the very earth
carrying along the prayer of all things:
trees, ants, stones, creeks and mountains alike

All giving silent thanks and remembrance
each moment, as a tug on a rosary bead
while we hurry past, heedless of the mysteries

And, yet, every secret wants to be told
every shy creature to approach and trust us
if we patiently listen, with all our senses.

• Yahia Lababidi