The Miracle of Us

“Your uniqueness is the highest gift of existence. Spirituality is uncovering and blossoming that uniqueness.”
~ Amit Ray

Writers are often told “There’s nothing new under the sun.”

Although I was disheartened as a young writer when I first heard this concept, I’ve found that it’s mostly true, at least when you apply it to human behavior. I’m interested in history, especially of the earliest peoples, and I’m constantly amazed at how much our species has learned, and then forgotten, and then relearned.

“History repeats itself,” as we are told. I think that’s why we’re always amazed when we read something written hundreds of years ago, and it sounds as though it could have been penned today.

In the mid-1970s, the prose poem Desiderata (Latin for “desired things”) was circulating, often in poster form. I had one on my bedroom wall, and still have a plaque with the poem on it above my desk. I’ve read it so often, I nearly have it memorized.

Aside from the sound advice it offers, part of its appeal back then is that it was supposedly found in Old Saint Paul’s Church in Baltimore in 1692, and yet the themes are evergreen. (It was actually written in 1927 by Max Ehrmann. Still, that’s more than 90 years ago, but it resonates as if it were written today. Especially poignant for 2020 is the line that says, “Everywhere life is full of heroism.”)

As humans, we share so many aspirations, hopes, dreams, sentiments, and emotions, which is what allows us to connect with each other on a deep level. There’s nothing quite like that feeling when we’re talking to a friend who says, “I know just what you mean.”

And yet…there absolutely is something new under the sun, and that’s us! No matter how similar we may feel to someone else, or how much we may strive to be like someone else, each us is perfectly unique.

No one before us and no one after us, in the history of time, will be…us!

I’ve been thinking about this hard-to-grasp concept lately since we’re expecting another grandchild—our first granddaughter—this Spring. It’s so much fun to imagine what this new little personality will be like as she develops. Each of our grandsons has been so different.

This is why I choose to write so much about authenticity. If we are not genuine, if we try too hard to conform to the world’s standards, we lose our one chance to contribute what only we can.

Writers are advised to get around the “nothing new” dilemma by approaching or covering a topic in a way that feels new again. Good writing, like good music, has a signature to it. You can recognize a writer by his or her unique voice, an expression of who they are. The journey is to develop the confidence to allow that voice to spring forth.

But isn’t that the journey for all of us?

“Be yourself,” Desiderata tells us. “You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.”

In Living Life on Purpose, author Greg Anderson, founder of Cancer Recovery Foundation International, reinforces this message: “You are not some accident of biology. You are special. You are here, now, where you are, how you are, given the personality you have, with the unique abilities you possess because this is your moment to contribute to the world.”

I return to these two quotes again and again whenever I need some inspiration.

In this season of Advent, Christians wait in anticipation to celebrate the birth of a baby in a manger. Let us pause to reflect on the miracle of our own existence as well and remember that the best gift we can give to others is the gift of our authentic selves.

Affectionately,

Elaine

P.S. Paperwhites and other Narcissus plants, such as the one shown here, symbolize rebirth and renewal. This long-ago gift from a friend is blooming in our front yard this second week of December!