If you are reading this, you are alive. Life in and of itself is a miracle. None of us have the power to create and sustain life. Healthy eating and wise choices lead us to take care of ourselves. But alone we cannot make our heart beat, our blood flow, or direct air through the passageways of our lungs. We are dependent on the miracle of life for our very existence.
Frederick Buechner writes,
After lecturing learnedly on miracles, a great theologian was asked to give a specific example of one. ‘There is only one miracle,’ he answered. ‘It is life.’
The miracle of life, being alive, the act of breathing, growing, and personal consciousness does not fully encompass the life of which Buechner speaks, however. There is being alive, and then there is the experience of life.
We are alive. It is a miracle. And even in the miracle of life, none of us live fully. Sadly, I know of no one who lives fully alive with their whole heart intact.
The famous Braveheart quote comes to mind, “All men die. Not all men really live.” The frightful reality is that we can die long before we give up our last breath. I speak with men who love the story of William Wallace and his wholehearted fight for Scotland’s freedom. While his passion draws us in, men tell me they relate more with Robert the Bruce. I do, too. While Wallace keeps heart and stays true to the point of torture and beheading, Robert the Bruce wavers. He longs to live with Wallace’s zeal, but he fears the risks and pain. Where William Wallace fights like a man’s man and speaks with strength, Robert the Bruce feels and acts like a young boy. We know and live this story daily. Like Robert, we, too, cover up and manage our uncertainties and insecurities because life has cost our heart dearly. And because life hurts, we allow our heart to die, or at least drift asleep.
If we wake to our heart at all, we awaken in the middle of our story to learn we need help being alive.
Buechner challenges us to open our eyes and consider the quality of our life:
Have you ever wept at anything during the past year?
Has your heart beat faster at the sight of young beauty?
Have you ever thought seriously about the fact that someday you are going to die?
More often than not do you really listen when people are speaking to you instead of just waiting for your turn to speak?
Is there anybody you know in whose place, if one of you had to suffer great pain, you would volunteer yourself?If your answer to all or most of these questions is No, the chances are that you’re dead.
To think that we need help being alive is ironic. The fact that it is true is tragic. But awaken we must. The very physical, emotional, and spiritual lives of those around us await and depend on the restoration of our heart.
