The birth of our new baby girl, Annarose, reminded me in a profound way of the miracle of life. What a magical, remarkable, and breathtaking experience it is to witness and participate in the birth of another human being.
As I have had a few weeks to digest this a bit, to connect with my beautiful new daughter and my family, and to experience the range of emotions that often accompany a life-altering event like this, I’ve been reminded of so many aspects of life that are truly miraculous.
As Albert Einstein 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.” There is so much for us to be in awe of in life if we stop and pay attention. From the most profound to the mere mundane, life is full of wonder. Too often we take people and things for granted, instead of being amazed, impressed, and excited about the beauty and synchronicity that exists all around us.
In addition to being in awe of my sweet little angel, here are a few examples of some other, “simple” things I’ve noticed and been in awe of in the past few weeks:
- Electricity
- The natural bond between human beings
- The internet
- Breast feeding
- Trees
- Laughter
- Automobiles
- Family and community support
- Video
- Breathing
Our ability to be grateful and to appreciate others, ourselves, and life in general has very little to do with the circumstances or situations we encounter…it has to do with us and our perspective.
When something “big” happens in life, like the birth of a child, a major accomplishment, an important milestone, or something else we consider to be really “good,” we often give ourselves permission, albeit sometimes for just a very short time, to stop and appreciate – ourselves, others, or certain aspects of life. This is wonderful!
However, what if we took the time to appreciate life, the people around us, and ourselves all the time? If we focused on what we appreciated more regularly, do you think it would have a positive impact on our work, our relationships, and our lives? Of course it would. The good news is that appreciation is and always will be up to us. We have a choice in the moment-by-moment, day-by-day reality of life about what we focus on and how much gratitude we experience.
Take a minute right now and think of some of the people, things, and aspects of your life that you appreciate. Paying attention to these things and allowing yourself to be in awe of them is up to you! And, when we do this…it alters our experience of life, others, and ourselves instantly.
Congratulations on the birth of your daughter. I was impressed with your observation about how a “good” event can bring people together. I observed the same when my grandson and granddaughter were born.
The event doesn’t ecessarily have to be good to bring people together however. My 26 year old daughter passed away 8/4/08 unexpectedly while studying for her MBA in Vienna. It is the hardest thing I have ever had to deal with, but the number of people offering support has been very comforting. We planned a memorial servive for 150 people and almost 500 people attended. Human beings are amazing at times. When one or more of us is wounded, friends, family and even acquaintances circle the wagons with a defense of compassion and support.
Thanks Mike for this article – I needed it today. I had elective surgery on my ankle 2 weeks ago. It’s been hard w/out the use of my leg and being on crutches. I find myself often in a mental funk about what I cant’t do. I have a wonderful husband and 2 kids who help me out tremendously, but I still can’t get over not having the use of my leg & these crutches. I realize I need to look at everything in a new light and see how lucky I am that this is only temporary. There are many US soldiers coming back from war permanently disabled and mine is only short term. God bless.
Hello Mike,
Congratulations on the blessing of your new daughter to your family. I am so happy that you send out this newsletter, and what a nice reminder it is to be aware of everyday blessings. I was at the WRUG conference in Washington and we were all given a copy of your book: Focus on the Good Stuff. I have read your book and I want to Thank You for taking the time to write it and the endurance it took from you to get it published.
Thank you for sharing the wonderful experience of the birth of your second child! I have two beautiful daughters and completely understand the appreciation and excitement of a new life being born. I am extremely appreciative to my husband who was a great coach and support for our family while going through that life change, adding another person into our family.
I enjoy your articles and after reading them, I have the thought of appreciating more on my brain and am more open to accepting and appreciating even the toughest moments in life.
Thanks again for all that you do and enjoy your newly changed family.
Stephanie Parish
Portland, OR
PS When are you coming back to Portland?
Dear Mike,
Congratulations!!!!!!
I cannot express with words the wonderful feelings you brought out as you will sharing with us the greatest miracles in our lives; the birth of a child.
In fact I celebrated my 59th birthday yesterday and as always I appreciate and I am genuinely grateful for every single day in the year.
thank you for giving additional light on the areas that truly matter in our lives.’
I am passionate about life, about the gift of life, the joy of life and the present of time.
I am a business relationship and time solution consultant. Presently I am coming out with my 8th book/guide, how to introduce with easy and simple tools the appreciation for time and a unique fashion to double the deeds we do with time.
You are free to look me up on web and listen to my you-tube video addressing the HAPPY Seed.
All the best of luck to you and the family, light, love and luck. And yes miracles to happen every day.
Ana Weber
Congratulations on your new baby! There’s nothing like a new creation to change your appreciation of things. Thank you for sharing it and reminding those of us who don’t have babies around!
I just had my first grandchild!! I couldn’t be mor eexcited.
I read your book, “Focus on the good stuff” and it was outstanding. I am now reading, “Today.” it is very good, have you read it?
Have a great day!
Pat
Hi Mike, Congratulations on your new baby girl. You are so right about how easy it is to focus on the good stuff, even for short periods. What is more challenging is to not focus on the ‘bad’ stuff we see around us and to allow the joy of life to be our main focus. It feels so much better to know we are meant to have joy and give ourselves permission to appreciate everything, even things that don’t appear to be the way we would like them.
Hello Mike! What a wonderful experience, new life! I look at each new day as new life. It is so awesome everyday that I get to wake up and live! How wonderful is that? I have been a subscriber (thru private email) for a couple years now and I look forward to the newsletters all the time. I was wondering, have you ever considered coming to speak in Anchorage Alaska? You have had an awesome affect on my life, not just personally but also professionally too. I do hope that you get to experience many more “awes” in life…Alaska should be one of them!
Thank you,