This is the full definition of miracle according to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary.
- : an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs
- : an extremely outstanding or unusual event, thing, or accomplishment
- Christian Science: a divinely natural phenomenon experienced humanly as the fulfillment of spiritual law
This definition explains a traditional view of miracles as something supernatural and divinely generated, belonging only to the theists in the crowd. But what about people who don’t believe in a deity? Don’t they get to experience miracles too? I say they do.
Here is my full definition of a miracle.
- And explosion of awe (often accompanied by a feeling of joy) upon experiencing something beautiful, wonderful or inexplicable
- The awareness of the complexity of life and everything in it
- Deep gratitude for the privilege of being alive in this time and place knowing that you could have just as easily not been.
- Extending this sense of awe, joy, awareness and gratitude to everything and everyone you encounter
Miracles belong to everyone. You only need to be willing to recognize them.
The Pink Elephant Room 
Wonderful new definitions… but doesn’t Merriam-Webster also allow for a lack of the divine in their second definition?
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Thanks, Kathye! Yes, it’s true that M-W’s second definition leaves out the divine, but it still has the sense of grandeur (i.e. big size) and rarity to it, which I think limits all the miracles that people encounter every day. And I don’t mean to dilute the importance of the word “miracle” but rather to elevate what so many perceive as ordinary.
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