I have always been fascinated by the simplest things. Even the most common abilities of man, they can make my mouth gap open with a sense of wonder. This hub is meant to help us remember how lucky we are to be alive; to remind the reader that life is a miracle to be enjoyed.

 First, I am overawed by the fact that I can walk. With a brain sending commands to my legs, I rise from the couch and move to the kitchen for a drink of water. I can walk one step or four miles. I am mobile. I am free to roam from this place to that at will. And, I don't even need to think about it. I don't have to reach along my body anywhere to punch a special button to make me get up and walk. I simply have to get up. This is amazing and defies comprehension. I can do it. And yeah through the study of kinesiology and anatomy I can figure out how the muscles work together to make it happen, but this does not mkae the act of walking any less wonderful.

How about the ability to communicate? I have a voice box that allows me to open my mouth and make intelligent sounds (well at least most of the time). Beyond that I have a place in my brain where I can store a huge number of vocabulary words from which to draw and convey meaning. What an awesome gift to be able to communicate freely with other human beings.

 Of course, the ability to convey meaning with our mouths would be worthless, if we didn't have ears through which to hear. One of my favorite movies is August Rush. That movie is all about the ability to hear all the different sounds and enjoy the music life puts out. The sense of hearing is another wonderful gift which we take for granted.

 My brain can do more than send commands to be mouth and legs; it can also solve complex problems. Through the power of the human brain, we can think through difficult issues and come up with adequate solutions. It is said that the average human being only uses 10% of their brain power. It is inconceivable to me what the human race could come up with if everyone used their maximum brain power.

And what about the tongue? Many thanks to fellow Hub member C. Ferriera for pointing out the wonder of the tongue. I thank God that I had parents who trained me to have international taste buds. The tongue is amazing in its ability to pick out the different flavors including sweetness, bitterness, salty and spicy.

I once had a co-worker who had a very restricted tongue. She could only eat certain things in certain ways. I love all of it. I told her that if God had given me her tongue I would kill myself. Of course, I didn't mean it. But I would be a very unhappy camper if I had a tongue that could not enjoy the vast array of flavors available.

Another aspect of the human body that boggles my mind is hand-eye coordination. This is especially true when I watch those who can:

1. Hit a baseball coming at variable speeds and breaking across at different locations around the plate,  

2. Make basketball jump shots at random spots on the court.

3. Land a golf ball close to the pin from different locations on the fairway and in shifting wind conditions.

I mean in shooting a basketball from random spots on the floor the brain has to calculate the distance and tell the muscles in the arm how much touch to apply in order to net the ball in the hole. This is mind boggling to me. A simple wonder that keeps me in awe of life.

One more aspect of humankind that makes me do a double take is our intellect and ingenuity. Every once in a while when I am driving along the highway, I break out in hilarious laughter at the mere fact that I am able to sit in a machine that allows me to go up to 70 miles in less than an hour. Or I can board an airplane and fly nearly 3000 miles away in about 6 hours. The fact that I can share my thoughts with the whole world in only the time it takes to type them out and push the send button on my laptop is absolutely incredible.