by Gregg Braden

Sometimes， just when we need the power of miracles to change our beliefs， they materialize in the places wed least expect. They can come to us as a drastic alteration in our physical reality or as a simple 1）synchronicity in our lives. Sometimes theyre big and cant be missed—the vision of 2）Our Lady of the Rosary that appeared to 50，000 people on a hillside near 3）Fátima， Portugal， in 1917， for example. Other times theyre so subtle that if we arent aware， we may miss them altogether. They can come from the lips of a stranger we suddenly and mysteriously encounter at just the right instant. If we listen carefully， well always hear the right words， at the right time， to dazzle us into a realization of something that we may have failed to notice only moments before.

On a cold January afternoon in 1989， I was hiking up the trail that leads to the top of Egypts 4）Mt. Horeb （the mountain of 5）Moses）. Id spent the day at St. Catherines Monastery and wanted to reach the peak by sunset to see the valley below. As I was winding up the narrow path， Id occasionally see other hikers who were coming down from a day on the mountain. While they would generally pass with simply a nod or a greeting in another language， there was one man that day who did neither.

I saw him coming from the last switchback on the trail that led to the backside of the mountain. As he got closer， I could see that he was dressed differently from the other hikers Id seen. Rather than the high-tech fabrics and styles that had been the norm， this man was wearing traditional Egyptian clothing. He wore a tattered， rust-colored 6）galabia and obviously old and thick-soled 7）sandals that were covered in dust. What made his appearance so odd， though， was that the man didnt even appear to be Egyptian！ He was a small-framed Asian man， had very little hair， and was wearing round， 8）wire-rimmed glasses.

As we neared one another， I was the first to speak. “Hello，” I said， stopping on the trail for a moment to catch my breath. Not a sound came from the man as he walked closer. I thought that maybe he hadnt heard me or the wind had carried my voice away from him in another direction. Suddenly he stopped directly in front of me on the high side of the trail， looked up from the ground， and spoke a single sentence to me in English：“Sometimes you dont know what you have lost until youve lost it.” As I took in what I had just heard， he simply stepped around me and continued on his descent down the trail.

That moment in my life was a small miracle. The reason is less about what the man said and more about the timing and the context. The year was 1989， and the 9）Cold War was drawing to a close. What the man on the trail couldnt have known is that it was during my Egyptian pilgrimage， and specifically during my hike to the top of Mosess mountain， that Id set the time aside to make decisions that would affect my career in the 10）defense industry， my friends， my family， and， ultimately， my life.

I had to ask myself what the chances were of an Asian man dressed in an Egyptian galabia coming down from the top of this historic mountain just when I was walking up， stopping before me，and offering his wisdom， seemingly from out of nowhere. My answer to my own question was easy： The odds were slim to none！ In an encounter that lasted less than two minutes， on a mountain halfway around the world from my home， a total stranger had brought clarity， and the hint of a warning， regarding the huge changes that I would make within a matter of days. In my way of thinking， thats a miracle.

I suspect that we all experience small miracles in our lives every day. Sometimes we have the wisdom and the courage to recognize them for what they are. In the moments when we dont， thats okay as well. It seems that our miracles have a way of coming back to us again and again. And each time they do， they become a little less subtle， until we cant possibly miss the message that they bring to our lives！

The key is that theyre everywhere and occur every day for different reasons， in response to the different needs that we may have in the moment. Our job may be less about questioning the extraordinary things that happen in our daily lives and more about accepting the gifts they bring.

有時候，就在我們需要奇跡的力量來改變信念之際，奇跡總在我們意想不到的地方出現(xiàn)。奇跡來到我們身邊，顯現(xiàn)為我們現(xiàn)實(shí)世界里的一個巨變，又或是我們生命中巧合而至的事件。有時候這些奇跡宏大彰顯，難以忽視，比如說，1917年，在葡萄牙臨近法蒂瑪?shù)囊粋€山坡上，玫瑰圣母的影像在五萬人面前顯現(xiàn)。還有一些時候奇跡很微妙，如果并不在意，我們也許會完全錯失。奇跡可以來自于一個陌生人的口中，一個適時突如其來的神秘陌生人。如果我們仔細(xì)聆聽，我們往往會聽得合時箴言，頓悟到片刻前我們可能未曾注意到的東西。

1989年1月，一個寒冷的午后，我正攀登著通向埃及何烈山（摩西之山）山頂?shù)男?。我已在圣凱瑟琳修道院待了大半天，打算在日落前到達(dá)頂峰，看看下面的山谷。沿著那條狹窄的山路蜿蜒上行，我偶爾會見到其他在山上待了一整天正在下山的背包客。他們經(jīng)過時往往會簡單地點(diǎn)下頭或用另一種語言問候，但那天我遇到一個人他卻沒有這么做。

我看到他從通往山后的那條小徑的最后一個折返處走來。當(dāng)他走近些的時候，我能看出他與其他我見到的背包客穿著不同。這個男人并非穿著常規(guī)款式的高端面料登山服，而是穿著傳統(tǒng)的埃及服飾。他穿著一件破破的赭色長袍，腳上踏著一雙沾滿了灰塵的厚底舊涼鞋。但是，看起來尤為古怪的是，那男人根本不像是埃及人！他是個小個兒的亞洲男人，僅有一丁點(diǎn)兒頭發(fā)，戴著副圓圓的金絲鑲邊眼鏡。

當(dāng)我們走近彼此的時候，我是那個先開口的人?！澳愫茫蔽艺f道，一邊在小徑上停下了腳步喘口氣。那個男人走得更近的時候卻并未作聲。我想也許他沒聽到或者風(fēng)把我的聲音從他那兒吹到了別的方向。突然，他徑直在我面前停了下來，停在小徑較高的那邊，抬起頭，只是用英語對我說了一句話：“有時候直到你失去了，你才知道你丟掉了什么?！碑?dāng)我琢磨著自己剛剛聽到的話時，他只是在我周圍踱了踱步，而后繼續(xù)走他下山的路。

我人生中的那一刻是個小小的奇跡。原因并不是因?yàn)槟莻€男人說了什么，更多的是因?yàn)槟莻€時機(jī)和情境。那年是1989年，冷戰(zhàn)時代已經(jīng)接近終結(jié)。那個山徑上的男人不會知道的是在我的埃及朝圣之行中，特別是在我徒步登上摩西山頂?shù)耐局?，我將預(yù)留出時間來做決定，那些決定將會影響我在國防業(yè)的職業(yè)生涯、我的朋友、我的家人，還有，最后是，我的人生。

我不得不問自己這是何種機(jī)緣，看起來不知打哪兒冒出來的一位身著埃及長袍的亞洲人在我上山的同時也正從這座名山上走下來，停在我面前，并分享他的智慧。我對自己的問題給出的答案很簡單：這幾率小到?jīng)]有！在一場持續(xù)了兩分鐘不到的偶遇中，離家以外，地球的另一端，在這山上，一個陌生人帶來了清晰并蘊(yùn)含著暗示的警言，提醒著我在數(shù)日之內(nèi)將會做出巨大的改變。在我看來，那是一個奇跡。

我猜想我們在生命里的每一天都經(jīng)歷著小奇跡。有時候我們有智慧和勇氣去識出它們的本來面目。當(dāng)我們識不出的時候，也沒什么關(guān)系。我們的奇跡似乎總有反復(fù)回到我們身邊的辦法。并且每次當(dāng)它們歸來，都變得少了一絲微妙，直到它們將我們不可能錯失的消息帶進(jìn)我們的生活。

關(guān)鍵是，它們無處不在，并且每天因?yàn)椴煌脑砂l(fā)生著，呼應(yīng)著我們在當(dāng)下可能懷有的不同需求。我們要做的不是過分質(zhì)疑發(fā)生在我們?nèi)粘Ｉ钪械姆欠彩录?，而是更多地接受它們帶來的恩賜。

葡萄牙里斯本東北部的一個山中小鎮(zhèn)——法蒂瑪，如今成為了全世界天主教徒朝圣祈禱的圣地，其中的緣由還必須從1917年講起……

1917年5月13日，三個小牧童——路濟(jì)亞、雅琴達(dá)、方濟(jì)各，在一棵小橡樹上看到了一位光耀、溫柔、美麗的夫人，她身著金邊白色長衣，頭巾直直垂到腳跟，她說：“我從天上來。”孩子們認(rèn)出了她就是圣母瑪利亞。圣母要求三個孩子奉獻(xiàn)自己，做刻苦補(bǔ)贖，并為了世界和平常念玫瑰經(jīng)。當(dāng)時正值第一次世界大戰(zhàn)，西班牙也卷入歐陸戰(zhàn)爭，葡萄牙仰仗圣母庇佑，并未燃起戰(zhàn)火。

玫瑰圣母先后在法蒂瑪顯身六次，第六次顯身是在1917年10月13日，當(dāng)時有幾萬人在場。圣母告訴他們：“我是玫瑰之后，我希望在這里蓋一座圣堂，讓罪人在這里痛悔罪過?！?接著天空出現(xiàn)異象，人們看到太陽跳動，又似火輪般自行旋轉(zhuǎn)，眾人紛紛跪下呼喊：“求天主垂憐！”而后，天空出現(xiàn)圣家三圣，耶穌嬰孩祝福了他們。