If you think about it, most of our adult life is filled with ordinary everyday moments….moments when we wake up and get dressed, make breakfast, drink coffee, go to work, sit in traffic, go grocery shopping, wash dishes, do laundry, pay bills, fold our clothes, send our kids to school, finish homework, sleep, eat….the list is endless. And wherever you are, doesn’t matter which country you live in, whatever your life situation is, there is no escape from these everyday ordinary moments. And in between these ordinary moments we try to squeeze in as much time for play, to socialize, spend time with family, meet friends, pursue our hobbies and have fun.
These past few months of technically not “doing” a lot of these ordinary everyday things but observing them all around me has made me ask myself – what if we could turn these ordinary everyday moments into something extraordinary? How amazing would that be! Sounds impossible, doesn’t it? But come to think of it, it’s not as difficult as it seems. We just get so bogged down by our everyday moments that they stop being extraordinary! We try to fit in too many things in our schedule because we feel that doing these simple and ordinary things is not enough….there is more to us that just doing chores! And I agree….we all have a purpose, a passion that we should live for. But that doesn’t mean we cannot take pleasure in the simple everyday moments, right? What if next time we are doing dishes, we give ourself completely to that act. What if we don’t think about our to do list or how we hate doing dishes and instead just immerse ourselves fully….witnessing the water cleaning that grease off, the soap bubbles on our hands, the fragrance of dishwashing soap. What if next time we go grocery shopping we don’t rush thru the aisles and instead spend time in the fresh food section – picking each vegetable, feeling its texture and thinking how it will nourish us. Or when we clean our room the next time, we watch every movement of our vacuum cleaner. Or instead of gulping down our first cup of coffee because we are running late, we wake up five minutes early to sit down and savor each sip.
What if we bring MINDFULNESS and ATTENTIVENESS in each and every action – no matter how small or insignificant it seems. Giving ourselves completely to every moment is what brings pleasure into each and every act…and once we pay full attention to every moment, no longer it is an ordinary everyday moment! And once our every moment is extraordinary….well, so is our life – SIMPLE and EXTRAORDINARY :o)
