Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Musings: Miraculous

It's been the best kind of day, as in dominated by rain, and I had the chance to really watch it, falling straight, with spaces between the drops, floating in through the bamboo, creeping past the peaks of Makaleha. The sounds were mostly drips, and in the distance, the river, rushing ever more loudly, and much nearer, the birds, which chirped as they took cover during the heaviest showers and chirped when they returned, in the lull times, to feast on the insects and worms that must surface, or drown.

The dogs and I followed the pattern of the birds: taking cover in the screen porch, which though technically inside, feels almost outside, when the rain came; walking among the glistening plants, atop the quenched, nourished soil, in the short spells when it departed.

During one of the taking cover times, Farmer Jerry called — people who really love the rain call each other on days like this, to share in the exultation — and somehow we got to talking about how it's hard to be an atheist when confronted with a seed, especially on a day such as this, when everything is so alive and thriving. And from there it was an easy enough segue into how the legendary six days of creation did not end on the seventh, but continue each and every day, an ongoing miracle evident to anyone with a farm or garden or connection to things that grow.

I am a believer in miracles — the kind that grow, the kind we can't explain or barely understand, the kind that change people, upend beliefs and their associated systems.

I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in saying it feels like the world is waiting for a miracle, a paradigm-busting event on the scale of discovering the earth rotates around the sun, an atom can be split. It's gotta be something really major, seeing as how the global economy is teetering, the planet is warming, the population is skyrocketing, solutions are scarce, our collective will is weak.

But what if there isn't any savior out there who's gonna give us the answers, and instead, it's up to every one of us doing something really daring, like living as if each time we witness someone having an emotion, taking an action, the very same neurons that are firing in them, are firing in us, too?

Because they are. We're that alike, that interconnected.

What sort of profound impact do you suppose it would have on how we treat one another, behave in the world, heck, choose what to watch on TV, if we really, truly understood that dynamic?

Perhaps nothing short of miraculous?

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Waiting for Godot ?

Anonymous said...

when, oh when, will we get that we're in this together? that the only planet we'll ever have is the one we ride on right now? the the artificial creations of man (us) are transitory? that the answers to all questions are within our collective history? that evolution continues despite our denials? that if we don't share and care we are doomed?

Anonymous said...

Hey.....history does not care about our little lives. Neither does the cosmos.

Did we make a difference? Or, just leave alot of trash behind after we died?

You might as well make the best of your life and be open to miracles....
look where you live. That's a miracle!

You could be in Detroit, LA or Chicago....making more money.

We can't control other people, and we can only change ourselves...and that's not easy.

Thank your God for the Blessings.

Dr Shibai

Anonymous said...

when my daughter was born i used to marvel how people greeted us with such joy, reverence and appreciation for life. just because she was a newborn, small& precious, vulnerable to life's harshness; everyone greeted her with a smile, kind words of blessings and best wishes. i wondered what our lives would be like if we greeted each other with such respect, love and adoration that we bestow upon the innocent infant; that if we greeted each other with loving remarks and big smiles our world would be such a wonderful place indeed : )
namaste, aloha and bee well!

Anonymous said...

Aloha Dr. Shiba: history and care are artifacts. The cosmos is not. We ascribe qualities to experience which only has meaning to us. You are right that we should make a difference and that difference should be as far reaching as possible. I envy your patients. You are a kumu. Mahalo.

Anonymous said...

Please report on the scavenger hunt, I would love to hear about tax payer funded fun!

Anonymous said...

November 4, 2011 9:58 PM

I too heard of planning department escapdes, do spill.

Anonymous said...

The powwow was an approved bonding experience. No ethical violation in using government equipment and gasoline and labor for a retreat.