It's a Miracle

by Michele Boy | July 9, 2020

Albert Einstein said, “There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” 

My husband left early to go pick up a part for the farm. As he was leaving my daughter decided to go with him. 

Every time they leave I say a short prayer because that’s my world. And I want them to return safely. Maybe it comes from when I was a child, people left all the time. But I don’t breathe easy till they return home again and I get the luxury of being irritated at them for not getting their dishes in the sink or some other silly thing. 

They were close to Johnson when she spotted a deer running that my husband admits he didn’t see. He swerved and braked. Everyone is safe. 

But that’s how quickly life can change. 

The world we are living in today can be equated to an earthquake. All that we know seems to be changing rapidly with constant shifts and unsure if the next step you take will be on solid ground. It gets uncomfortable and forces us to wake our senses up a bit more. 

What we once thought was history is now in our face as we see new perspectives on monuments and songs and sports team names and syrup. 

I saw Aunt Jemima as a sweet lady who wanted everyone to come over to her house for a meal. I pictured getting a big hug from her when I walked in her door. Not everyone sees it that way and I appreciate the ability to see it from another’s point of view even if I don’t agree. 

Face masks are our latest controversy. And it seems everyone who doesn’t think the way you do is an idiot. That bothers me greatly. Discussion and debate are at the heart of our country. Harry Belafonte said, “Bring it on. Dissent is central to any democracy.”

I watched the movie Skokie in school. IMDb calls it “A dramatization of the controversial trial concerning the right for Neo-Nazis to march in the predominately Jewish community of Skokie.” The movie impacted me on how important I feel it is to allow speech, even hate speech, to live in a free society. 

I don’t like anyone getting picked on or bullied. But lately it feels very much like George Orwell’s Animal Farm, where we want to take down injustice and replace it with revenge and just change the name of the regime. Don’t let hate win. Love your brother or your sister. We don’t always agree with those we don’t understand.  We should respect others regardless. And the very least we could do is try to understand each other.