24 Feb - 2 Mar 2008

Fair Trade Fortnight begins on 25 February 2008. The campaign for fair trade in the world has been remarkably successful even 'miraculous', though it has a long way to go. This started me to think about what some people today call a 'miracle', by which they mean a natural event which is either significant or remarkable.

"Miracles start to happen when you give as much energy to your dreams as you do to your fears."

Richard Wilkins (writer, further information not found).

Further Thoughts
The American psychologist Abraham Maslow thinks that it is the way we look at life which makes a miracle or not:

"Any sunset or oak tree or baby or pretty girl is a fantastic and unbelievable, unassimilable miracle if seen for the first time, or if seen as if for the first time (or as if for the last time), as a good artist sees or as any good experiencer sees. This fresh and defamiliarized experiencing becomes easy for any person as soon as he has sense enough to realize that it is more fun to live in a world of miracles than in a world of filing cabinets and that a familiar miracle is still a miracle."

Abraham Maslow (1908-1970, psychologist).

We may think that the 'proper' definition of miracle is "a violation of the laws of nature" but this was put forward by the 18th century atheist philosopher David Hume. This definition has caused huge problems for religious people because it cast doubt on the Biblical stories of signs and wonders. It also took away an essential part of human life: of seeing a miracle - what is special and extraordinary - in life.