THE SIX MIRACLES, BUT SURER NOW

For some years I've mentioned from time to time my belief that during the creation of the Universe, or Nature, at least six inexplicable, absolutely mysterious and beautiful miracles have occurred. Here they are:

  1. That anything exists in the first place
  2. That once there was something, it began evolving
  3. That life arose inside this evolving Universe
  4. That life itself began evolving
  5. That consciousness arose among certain living things
  6. That out of mere consciousness there has arisen, at least among humans, the ability to see ourselves in the context of the broad Universe, to see ourselves as the product of an evolutionary flow, to reflect upon our own genetic programming and sometimes to be INSPIRED to do things beyond what our programming requires.

When I first wrote down those miracles in my November 24, 2002 Newsletter, I felt I had an important insight, but I wasn't sure. Now at age 61-½ I want to say that with each passing day and with the discovery of every new thing for me, I've grown more and more sure that the Six Miracles have really occurred, and that Nature -- the Universe -- is more mysterious and beautiful than I'd ever dreamed.

In the 2002 Newsletter I wrote:

"I think that The Sixth Miracle is occurring just now -- "now" being the last few millennia. This blossoming is taking place as a greater and greater percentage of us Homo sapiens at least sometimes, at least briefly, project our minds beyond thoughts dealing with the daily maintenance and navigation of our bodies -- the hurting feet, the mechanics of acquiring mates, power and status, etc.

The Sixth Miracle flashes into being whenever any one of us reflects on the Cosmos, the selfless and beautiful abstract patterns in music and art, the pale-orange broomsedge field lightly touched with frost at dawn as the White-throated Sparrow sings its "I'm here" song... and is moved to emotion."

A few Newsletters ago I pointed out that Nature accepts in her sustainable systems certain strategies that most humans find objectionable: "lying, robbery and murder." I should have mentioned then that the Sixth Miracle of Nature assures humans that in human society "lying, robbery and murder" are not inevitable.

For, when the Sixth Miracle of Nature ignites in our lives, we become so overwhelmed by the Truth of the Universe's majesty that there's simply be no need to lie, to make things seem better. Anyone touched by The Sixth Miracle is bound to be so inspired by the bounty and generosity of Nature in general that the need to rob  never occurs to them. Discovering the Sixth Miracle blossoming in our lives, it's inevitable that we become so touched by the absolute beauty and mystery of life that the mere idea of murder is incomprehensible.

We must fix the concept of the Sixth Miracle of Nature in our minds and walk toward it every day, never losing sight of what it is offering. We must never forget to do what we can to encourage it to blaze brightly in our own lives, and we must never stop trying to help one another know about the Sixth Miracle, so that everyone can benefit from it.