Few Unitarian Universalists believe in supernatural acts that alter how the natural world works.

Instead, most UUs believe that life itself is the supreme miracle. Being alive is viewed as an incredible gift, something holy, awesome, and mysterious.

UU Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common…like the blowing clover and the falling rain…the miracle of life, natural and unalloyed, is made manifest in every living thing.”

He added, “I believe in miracles because I can raise my own arm. I believe because I can remember. I believe because I can speak and be understood by you.”

How about angels?

UUs view angels as the incarnation of the divine in the ordinary. Awakening to the miracle of life entails not so much discovering the supernatural, but rather discovering the super in the natural.

Each of us can create miracles. Others are responsible for our being born, but what we make of our lives–how deeply, generously, and gratefully we live–is up to us.

When we appreciate life to be a miraculous gift for ourselves, we are inspired to revere and support the presence of this same gift in others. We realize that the world doesn’t owe us a living—instead, we owe the world a worthwhile life, our own.

[January 28, 2022]