Shortly after midnight last night I stepped out of my office headed home. I locked and closed the office door and stepped out into the night.... it was startlingly quiet. Outdoors in Oklahoma, most of the year, is noisy. Noisy with crickets, locust, owls, coyotes, dogs and the fact that we live not more than fifty yards from the highway means that it is never really quiet. But, it was last night.
I had just finished watching "Henry Poole is Here", a movie about miracles, and was feeling reflective anyway.
Normally that time of night and as cold as it was I hurry into the house as fast as I can but the silence called me.
I walked out into the yard away from the light of the porch light and just stood there.
There was no wind (something else that just doesn't happen often here), the night was just still. The stars were sparkling like ice the way they do in a winter sky. The constellations seemed to be more distinct, the sky a dark indigo. I closed my eyes to see what I could see.. a dog barking far off in the distance, an oil well squeaking somewhere behind me, they almost seemed to be in some sort of odd rhythm ... no other sounds. The stillness like peace wrapped all around me and I stood still and listened.
I found myself muttering the words like a child, "I do believe in miracles, I do believe in magic" The moment was magic. I stood there for at least five minutes until I heard a car motor miles away. The moment was over.

Once again it makes me aware that I need to be present in each moment of every day so I don't miss the magic.