Connecting the Dots

At one end of the miracle spectrum is the idea that somehow a higher order
has been achieved out of chaos and randomness...
lucky happenstance in friendships or life partners...
a recognition that at times we are riding a gentle wave that seems predestined.
-The Miracle Collectors

February is a month that for some of us, feels like winter will never end. And yet, beneath the surface, all manner of new life is getting ready to spring. We humans have the ability to shed light on a gloomy world by connecting with each other in ways that only we can, as Katie writes about in this month’s blog. Here’s to sharing warmth with each other all year long.
 

Collecting Miracle Moments One Story at a Time.

Joan and Katie

I’ve been thinking even more than usual about connecting with each other after giving a talk to some 200 women last month in San Francisco. My sister Mary, who was with me, ran into an old college friend she hadn’t seen in years. The friend hadn't realized the speaker she had come to see was Mary’s sister and their reunion was a good one. When I was asked what my favorite miracle story was during the Q&A (I don’t have one), I relayed a story we had heard at Mayfield High School in Pasadena. One of the organizers of the event enthusiastically piped in that Mayfield was her alma mater. While waiting in line to buy books, two women who didn’t know each other started chatting. One of them pointed to a life like butterfly all alone adhered to the side of a large column in the room, the remnants of an art project perhaps. The other woman got teary-eyed and relayed the significance of butterflies, a connection she had forged with her best friend who had died in an accident ten years before. By the time they got to the end of the line, these two women had bonded over what they saw as a miracle connection.

I, personally, felt a special connection to the women who had organized the event that went beyond our brief encounter. None of this is particularly surprising since this was a self-selected group of women with ties to a Jesuit high school. Our peeps, if you will. St. Ignatius thought “finding God in all things” is a way of being, of elevating our lives and experiences through a spiritual lens such that even the most routine connections carry significance. Albert Einstein agreed when he said, “There are only two ways to live your life, one is as though nothing is a miracle, the other is as though everything is a miracle.” Einstein was not a religious man, but a deeply spiritual one who looked with wonder at the profound, sometimes incomprehensible, mysteries of the universe. Surely, part of that mystery involves our very existence on this planet, with our interactions and relationships a primary purpose for living.

When connections are made that unfold in a seamless way with mutual regard, it reminds me of “Namaste,” recited at the end of yoga practice that translates to “the light in me honors the light in you.” Honoring light in each other is an acknowledgement that light exists in all of us. I believe that light is a gift from the Divine. So it is not a surprise to me when it feels like connections are meant to be, that indeed we somehow run into each other on purpose, whether brief experiences, or meaningful life-long relationships. Either way, I believe there is a method to the madness and we each play our part by paying close attention to those who cross our path. (Katie)

This year we are going to add one of our Miracle Moment Challenges to our monthly posts. 

Let There Be Light:
What would it look like to let your light shine brighter today? How might you ask the universe to assist you?