I frequently read articles about theater and music. I can’t help it. These particular arts have been such a major part of my life that I continue to study and learn and enjoy them whenever possible. They’re in my DNA.

In a New York Times article by Patrick Healy (and I’m quoting freely here) I read about “actor George Lee Andrews, a Guinness World Record holder for the most performances in the same Broadway show: 23 years in The Phantom of the Opera (9,382 performances).” Yet he was shocked when the powers that be “at Phantom revealed that they were not extending his six-month contract, which had been renewed more than 40 times before. Even though George was still at the top of his game, the producers said they just wanted some ‘new blood to strengthen the show for an indefinite commercial run.’”

Most Broadway shows rarely make it to the 1-year mark, so his 23-year run was a phenomenal anomaly. However, the coda of the story is one of life’s little miracles. “George’s sting of leaving the show was greatly lessened when he learned the name of his replacement: Aaron Galligan-Stierle, 31, a New York stage actor who, as fate would have it, is his son-in-law.” George may have even claimed this was a miracle. Or he might have said that this was ‘meant to be.’ I hope not. I’ll have to ask him.

Actually, life simply happens. There are good things, bad things, and a whole heap of stuff in-between. We try to control it all as best we can, but life has a way of expressing itself with or without our consent. When we hit the jackpot there’s a natural tendency for us humans to want to thank someone or something for our gift. We are so superstitious that our imagination begins to work overtime, perhaps concluding that maybe this gift was a reward for something we did right. And if a bad thing happens, we want to find someone else to blame. Often it’s god. Other times we blame it on imaginary villains, or even an object. That’s humans!

I ran across another heart-warming story, this one on National Public Radio. It was an interview with Gerald Wilson, who at the age of 93 was about to release his latest album. Wilson is a giant of jazz who has written for and played with the orchestras of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Carter, and many more. On this album he’s joined by his son, Anthony Wilson, and grandson, Eric Otis, who are also composers and musicians.

Otis and Gerald Wilson first began working together when the latter’s eyesight started failing and he needed help transcribing his compositions. Soon Otis starting arranging on his own and this led to Wilson and his prodigious Gerald Wilson Orchestra releasing a new album called, Legacy, including arrangements by Wilson’s son…and grandson. What a joy it must be for them to have three generations in their family collaborating to make beautiful music.

Observation, reason, and experience suggest that there is no supernatural deity to thank when good things happen to us. As Shakespeare said, it’s simply “Giddy Fortune’s furious fickle wheel.” Or as he said in All’s Well That Ends Well:

“Our remedies oft in ourselves do lie,
Which we ascribe to heaven. . .”

The ‘good luck’ examples I’ve cited are light-weight, feel-good events. Not all events are good. And when bad things happen, the blame game begins. Many fix the blame based upon their understanding of their god. For example, after 9/11 Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson said that “god may have allowed what the nation deserved because of the moral decay caused by the ACLU, abortionists, feminists, gays, and the People For The American Way.” Really?

It’s hard for many people to accept that it’s simply nature, the natural world that is influencing our lives. But humans panic and fear that if there is no god pulling the strings, life will be turned into some sort of random chaos. The truth is there are seemingly random acts of nature that we can’t explain. However, they are actually triggered by some natural law. . .or by some living creature. Yes, we’re including humans here, who are a part of the natural world. As we increase our knowledge of the natural world, perhaps fewer and fewer events will be ascribed to the supernatural.

We humans want to be in control and/or believe that we have the cell phone number for whoever runs life on our little planet. I do not believe that supernatural deities exist, let alone claim control over our lives. I have come to this opinion because of the overwhelming lack of evidence to the contrary and because there are thousands of religions, each with a god their adherents claim is the one and only TRUE god. This gives one pause.

Life’s good luck and bad luck isn’t dished out by a supernatural deity. Natural phenomena are is the cause and the events that occur are not miracles, not supernatural. The hardest thing for us is to understand that it’s not PERSONAL. Nature doesn’t have our names. We are simply a part of this natural world, a fabulous ever-changing world. To me, that is miracle enough.

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