Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Don't Miss The Joy

Recently a co-worker said to me, “Michael, you’ve had an interesting life”. I have to admit that it hasn’t always felt interesting but I have had some interesting experiences in my life. A deeper reality, however, is that if you added up all the interesting experiences in my life it would be a small percentage of the sixty years I have lived so far. Most of my life has been very ordinary. A big chunk of time has been taken up by the business of living day to day to meet my obligations, make a living, be faithful to my commitments, and survive in a hostile world. This is not to say that ordinary is bad. Interesting experiences might be thought of like weekends. We all live for them but they make up a small portion of our lives. If I could put my entire life on an Excel spreadsheet and sort it, I am confident that I’ve had some pretty great Wednesdays which by most people's standards would be considered a very ordinary day of the week. Most of life is ordinary and much of it can seem boring. This is why it is so important to pay attention to the moment, be awake, and be aware of the potential and grace of the moment. I truly believe there is much that is extraordinary hidden within the ordinary. Enjoy the ordinary days. Enjoy that first cup of coffee in the morning. Notice the sunrise. Laugh with your friends. Listen to lots of your favorite music. Eat a piece of the cake that your co-worker brought into the office. Spend some time in your favorite chair with a good book. Look out your window and enjoy the scenery. Don’t let the joy of ordinary days pass you by while you are waiting for something interesting to happen.

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