Reflections

Do you believe in magic? If magic is that which fills us with awe and wonder, magic is everywhere. Every day is filled with magic. Nature itself is one miracle after another. What could be more magical? Look at a seed. How does that turn into a plant? How does a caterpillar turn into a butterfly? Life is filled with wonder.

Do I believe in miracles? I see them happen every day. The fact that I am here at all involves several miracles. I have three wonderful children and four grandchildren. There are no greater miracles on Earth.

Do I believe in religious miracles? Do I think that the natural laws have sometimes been suspended on behalf of a person or a people? No, but I believe that other people believe. I see miracles every day, but I’ve never seen a supernatural miracle. I don’t believe in elves or fairies or leprechauns or ghosts. I just don’t believe in the supernatural at all. I do believe in the power of human imagination. I do believe that some of life’s great lessons are best told in myth and allegory. I believe that stories and fables and parables and myths are wonderful vehicles for teaching and inspiring. Some of the most moving lessons I have ever learned I learned through stories.

But when we start treating myth and allegory as reality, when we take ancient texts full of important lessons intended to help us to live better lives and take these stories literally, we can lose the important core lessons in a lot of detail that might have made sense to desert tribes 2,000 years ago, but doesn’t make sense now. That was then, and this is now. We need to winnow out the important lessons from the chaff.

There are so many natural miracles that I cannot spend my time chasing other people’s dreams. The magic of reality far exceeds any person’s imaginings.