Is there a difference?

We like to put people, places, things, and events into categories of opposites. For example, people are either friend or enemy. Places are nice or nasty. Things are wanted or not wanted. Events are good or bad.
Another category of opposites we use is mundane or miraculous. An event is either unremarkable or something to be wondered at.
I stub my toe (mundane).
I win Lotto (miraculous).
But I could put these events into their opposite category.
I stub my toe (miraculous).
I win Lotto (mundane).
How can I justify this switch?
To be able to stub my toe, I must have a toe to stub. My toe is a part of the breathing, walking, talking miracle that is me. And the stone I stub it on — where did that come from? How did it come into being? What a great journey this stone has been on. Maybe it came hurtling through space from a distant star or broiled up over millions of years from the centre of the earth to the surface. And here it is! Ready and willing to stub my toe!
This collision of two objects is miraculous — something to be wondered at — an event not to be taken for granted.
Winning Lotto? That just means I have a lot more money than I did when I woke up this morning. Ho-hum.
On a profound level, all people, places, things, and events are miraculous.
A dog running in a park. Fingers tapping keyboards. Fuel igniting and turning wheels. The baby just born. Hearing a fact and somehow storing it inside my head for future retrieval, perhaps even years from now. Old boots. Morning mist.
If I go through this day with the perspective that all people, places, things, and events are miraculous, I will be mindful.
And today will sing.
With love, Marlane
First published on Medium.com/change-your-mind
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