Like most Americans, I am looking forward to watching the fireworks this 4th of July. I remember as a child driving with my family to a parking lot for the best view of the awesome display of pyrotechnics. The "oohs" and the "ahs" echoed in the night to the backdrop of the sparkling lights in the sky. This year, whether Macy's live or virtual experience or in our hometown, the fireworks will surely dazzle our senses.
I have a secret. We can see fireworks all summer. It depends on our perspective.
The poem "Fueled" by Macie Hans enhances our vision.
Fueled
by a million
man-made
wings of fire-
the rocket tore a tunnel
through the sky-
and everybody cheered.
Fueled
only by a thought from God-
the seedling
urged its way
through thicknesses of black-
and as it pierced
the heavy ceiling of the soil-
and launched itself
up into outer space -
no
one
even
clapped.
Millions of us gather to be inspired by fireworks, man-made technology, and yet the miracle of life "launches" in the sky and we do not even clap. When we pause to reflect, we intuitively sense the majesty of a sunset or marvel at the birth of a baby. However, in reality, we experience fireworks every day of our lives.
Ralph Waldo Emerson reflected that the "invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common."
When we open our eyes in the morning, do we see the world anew with infinite possibilities and offer gratitude for the gift of life?
Every day we breathe without thought. After a person suffers an asthma attack, the first full breath invigorates them with indescribable joy. Make a practice every morning to search for your sources of inspiration. The sparks are everywhere.
Living consciously with an awareness of the miraculous in the common infuses every moment with meaning and joy.
This year on July 4, when we gaze at the dazzling skies, we can experience an awakening to "fuel" the fireworks all summer long.
The possibility of appreciating the mystery of existence and the beauty in the world abounds every day.
If we find the fireworks within ourselves, our family and friends, our community and the world, at the end of the August, when our friends ask, "How was your summer?" we will all be able respond "I saw firework each and every day!"