About Ashley Dane
”If you have never been called a defiant, incorrigible, impossible woman… have faith… there is yet time.” -Clarissa Pinkola Estes
Posted by Ashley Dane on August 7, 2012 · Leave a Comment
MIRACLE / n.-
a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is considered to be divine.
Recently I spoke with a new friend over lunch about the miracles of life in recovery. It’s a subject that I will never tire of, because in truth, there really isn’t anything quite as interesting as hearing about how events synchronized in just such a perfect way, as if some invisible hand was guiding things along with that exact ending in mind. I rescind–there IS one thing more interesting than hearing stories like that, and it’s living in that zone where life always feels like you are being protected and guided by invisible forces. It’s fascinating to talk to others who also live in that zone, and then you have confirmation that this place is really a magical fountain of possibility available to anyone who seeks it, or, as one of my favorite quotes goes: “The universe is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.”
Miracles make the very vivid statement that 1) a loving God was intervening 2) to overturn the painful way that things normally work here, so that 3) sickness and suffering could be replaced with healing and happiness.
-from A Course In Miracles
So this friend and I were talking about being present when a friend passes away, and the stillness of it, and how it feels as if the veil has slipped and you can feel the divinity and grace that animates the waking world, the source of all miracles is very present when people come into, and out of this world. I have been present for both, and it’s a stunning thing to experience. He told me then of his bout with brain cancer, and how there was only one doctor who could perform the exact surgery he needed…and needed in less than a week…or he would perish. I don’t remember why no one could get in touch with the brain doctor–perhaps he happened to be on vacation that week–I don’t recall. This was truly life or death, and a miracle was required.
My friend who was telling me this story has three decades of sobriety. He has a lot of friends in recovery, and works with a ton of newcomers. During that particular week he was talking to a friend on the phone, who had a newcomer with
Miracles Happen
him. I believe the newcomer had 30 days sober. Maybe they had called my friend to ask about a meeting, and the conversation turned into this life or death situation that he was facing. The newcomer heard the doctor’s name and perked up; not only did he know the physician in question, they were related! He was able to make the phone call that saved the life of my friend, who is now cancer free. It would have been great if they could have met, but that newcomer relapsed, overdosed and died. But in that one moment, all of the pieces fell into place, and a miracle happened.
I think life is an ebb and flow of events, of life falling apart, and then falling, sometimes inexplicably, together. I love the saying, “God could and would if he were sought.” In seeking to know God, and see God in action, one looks for God, and one finds evidence all around. In looking for a miraculous life, in the search for the miraculous, it is revealed to you. I don’t think looking for it makes it happen, it just makes it available to you, because you have opened yourself up to it by the very act of looking for it. The other critical bit to living a miraculous life is acceptance. We have to be in a state of surrender and acceptance to things we can’t change (like when life seemingly ‘falls apart’) to be available and open and ready for the miracle of when things ‘fall together’. Things have to fall apart first, like a caterpillar has to surrender its body to a period of disorganization before the transformation can occur. And then, the miracle of a new life, with wings. A creature that could only move an inch a minute is suddenly flying, frolicking amidst clouds and flowers in the sunlight. This is life. It’s a gift and a miracle. The more sober a person gets, the more access they have to this reality. The less influence the ego has on a person, the more access that person will have to the Zone. And what is ‘the Zone’? It’s heaven on earth. People in recovery are so fortunate that this path is not only made available for them, it’s illuminated along the way, and there are people to guide you.
A lot of times, the horse will
drink the water. But just as many times, it won’t. You are the horse. This golden life is yours.
Drink it up.
Click to subscribe !
