The Magic Of Ordinary Days
Life truly is what happens while you are making other plans. Life is going on around you as you plan for the trip or party, worry about meeting deadlines and create an ongoing to do list.
I work with so many people who are always looking forward and planning rather than focusing upon the now. For individuals who struggle with anxiety, life is often spent developing crisis plans for every possible situation that could happen. As those minutes and hours of planning go by, the current time can never be returned to. Those moments are gone.
We live for the big moments in life such as graduations, weddings and births. We struggle with the moments of illness, caregiving and grief. Somewhere in between are the ordinary days. The days filled with cleaning the house, running errands and sometimes simply being. I went for a period of time where nothing in my life was ordinary. Although my life continues to be busy, it has reached a point where there is more routine than not.
[tweetthis twitter_handles=”@how2makealife”]There is comfort in the routine of life.[/tweetthis]
Have you ever stopped yourself in the middle of an ordinary day and been grateful? The days of a regular routine have a type of magic which often become overlooked by something else on the list of life.
In the midst of a crazy world with negative news stories, I was blessed to have one of the best weekends. We did not do anything special. James and I completed regular weekend errands but also took time for side trips such as a walk around our alma mater Eastern Kentucky University so I could practice my photography skills. We drove back roads between towns and appreciated the sunshine. We tried new to me places to eat and enjoyed parts or our city that we haven’t in awhile.
Even in the summer months, life can be busy. For me I am in the midst of creating trainings and I continue to have a to do list but I stopped some of those things this weekend to simply enjoy my life.
All too quickly, life can turn upside down and we begin to crave the calm of the ordinary. We can sometimes ache for the routine of what we often gave no second thoughts.
As I start a new week, I’m grateful for the ordinary. I’m grateful for the moments that could easily seem insignificant but create the foundation of my daily life. There truly is magic in the ordinary if we allow ourselves to see it.
Do you find the magic in your ordinary days?
Yes, yes, yes! Love this post! I was thinking on Saturday as I was mentally prepping for an upcoming vacation that my husband and I have never gone away and left our kids for a week before. I got to thinking that people love to travel and see the world and do it often. I am a homebody at heart. I like the familiarity. The comfort of home. The routine. Knowing what to expect and knowing how to navigate. That doesn’t mean that I don;t want the other things or want to do things it just means that I enjoy my everyday life and what it entails. I think we get caught up in comparisons and the need to see more and do more that sometimes we forget that there is beauty right in front of us as well.
The most important thing is that we are each happy with our lives. I love my home and there are weekends when I don’t want to really do anything so we alternate what we do and our typical Friday nights are spent at home (and aren’t we supposed to have wild and crazy Friday nights?) It’s about being happy with what we have and not feeling bad about it.
This is so good. I am passionate about relishing the ordinary. Something like reading my book inside my clean apartment just after finishing mopping fills me with such joy–we really can’t ignore the beauty of everyday, completely normal experiences if we want to cherish life to the fullest.
Oh my gosh Rachel, I have so found such comfort in the same things. The small moments in life can mean everything.
I too often play the comparison game, usually when it comes to social media and seeing things others have that I don’t. I have tried to stop that, because I honestly do love my life. I’m healthy, happy, have a home and food and can pay my bills and still enjoy life. The sky definitely helps me see the magic in the every day. That something that beautiful starts and ends the day for us, such a gift to be able to see it!
By the way, I am LOVING your sky photos lately on instagram. Each of our lives are beautiful and comparing to others does no one any good.
Awe thank you, I’m so obsessed and summer skies in Erie are seriously beautiful! Thank you Sheryl!
I find that if I am not living the ordinary well…that is, in a healthy way, my anxiety is worse, not only on the day to day but especially when those big events come up!
This is so true. The routine creates such comfort. Without the routine, life can feel crazy.
You are so right. Sometimes i think nothing special is going on, but, I’m so grateful for that in a way – if something happened, I’d long for days where I stayed in doing laundry and watching a show with Jason.
By the way, your photos are turning out great!
Thanks – I’m a work in progress.
I LOVE days where I am just doing the ordinary- and there’s nothing wrong with that (Life makes us think we shouldn’t). I’ve been telling everyone lately that life has been relatively boring – and I love it.
This is such a good post! I had to learn this lesson the hard way and it has brought me joy every day since! Your weekend sounds just great!
Thank you Missy! It’s so important to realize the small simple moments are the majority of our lives.
I love this! It’s so important that we sit back and appreciate the “normal” moments.
The normal moments are what make up our lives!
I love this! This is exactly what I was thinking of when I created my series, Digital Detours. I wanted to capture and appreciate normal moments. Sunset at the beach or a beautiful, crisp summer day.
Thanks for writing this – great read to start off the weekend!
Thank you Kristine – it’s so important that we enjoy the small moments. So glad you stopped by.