~ From Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

Early Monday evening,  I was driving to a friend's house when I looked up and saw something rare and wonderful in the sky.  The Moon appeared as a dark circle, perfectly outlined by a hint of iridescent blue.  On the lower portion of the Moon was a brilliant white crescent shape, the phenomenon known as earthshine.  Isn't that a cool term?  Earthshine is sunlight reflected by the Earth toward the Moon. It gives our closest neighbor an almost three dimensional appearance.

Directly to the left of our gorgeous earthshiny Moon was one of the brightest stars I had ever observed.  Stars have to shine pretty brightly to be seen by us city dwellers and this one glowed with so much brilliance and intensity it had the effect of an exclamation point hanging in the middle of the night sky.  I found out later that this bright white pinpoint of light keeping company with our Moon was not a star at all but the planet Venus.  According to the folks at NASA, Venus was shining that evening with 11 times the brilliance of Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky.

This intense and brilliant light of Venus illuminating the sky on the night after Christmas reminded me of the story of the Three Wise Men or Magi who followed a star to the place where the child Jesus had just been born.  The term Magi comes from the Old Persian term magus, referring to a priestly caste of Zoroastrianism. A large part of Zoroastrianism involved the study of stars and planets, and these priests earned an international reputation as astrologers.  In those days astrology was a highly regarded science.

Currently, many do not consider astrology a science.  For the Magi, however, studying the movement of the stars in search of a miracle birth was as serious an endeavor as today's physicists searching for the Higgs particle in order to understand the birth of our Universe.

Miracles are born of possibility.  Our ancestors would have seen magic in our modern conveniences.  Carriages that move down the road without horses and boats that carry passengers across the sky are the cars and planes that we take for granted.  We see the fossil fuels that propel them as outdated.  A car or plane that is powered by thought would seem like magic to us, but can you say for sure that it would be impossible?  Just fifty years ago, the idea of humans landing on the moon was part of this nation's hope, rather than its history.

We listen to entire orchestras on little devices in our pockets.  On those same devices we can watch revolutions taking place halfway across the world in real time. Thanks to telescopes we can look back in time to what our Universe looked like just moments after the Big Bang.  We can fly to another continent in a matter of hours and, if a few hours is too much time, we can talk to or even see someone living on that continent in seconds by telephone or computer.

The last year has been both difficult and miraculous.  The year ahead is a blank canvas waiting for you to paint your vision into being.  If you could dream anything into reality, what would it be?  If you think your dream is impossible, stop and look at the wonder that is all around you.  Become aware of the miracles that power your life each and every day.  Cars on the street, food in a refrigerator, songs on an iPod, humans flying through the sky, me typing on this computer and you reading what I type: all these were once miracles that someone believed were possible to achieve.

As we say goodbye to 2011, give thanks for what already is.  Then, get busy imagining all the possibilities of what could be.

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Ring in 2012 with a bowl of Hoppin' John Hummus, a delicious dip based on the traditional New Year's dish.  Hoppin' John is an African-American-inspired recipe made with black eyed peas that is traditionally eaten on New Year's Day to bring luck and prosperity to the year ahead.

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling 

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons chopped chives

1 (15 oz) can of black eyed peas, drained

2 tablespoons water

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon paprika

Salt and pepper to taste

Hot sauce to serve (optional)

In a small, heavy saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil.  Sauté garlic and chives over medium heat, 1 or 2 minutes, stirring constantly (you don't want garlic to burn).

Add beans, water, cumin, oregano and paprika.  Stir to combine until heated through.  Turn off heat and mash with a potato masher until mostly smooth.  Add salt and pepper to taste, if needed.

Serve in a pretty bowl, with extra olive oil drizzled over the top and a few drops of hot sauce, if desired.

Makes enough for two.  Recipe can be doubled, tripled, etc. for more guests.