Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.
- Mary Jean Iron
It's hard to appreciate the ordinary, except in contrast to something hard or challenging. I am always reminded of this truth when I get sick. When I feel well, I take my physical being for granted. But when I have been sick and begin to feel better, I am filled with immense gratitude for how good it feels not to be sick! How ironic that we can feel exactly as we normally do but now "notice" how great that is.
Other people experience this sensation from a close call in a car or plane, an almost financial disaster, or anything that shakes us out of complacency and wakes us to the wonder of our ordinary existence. The trick, of course, is to learn how to have that awareness without having to be sick, almost lose your house, or get hurt in a car crash.
One way to do it is to pick an ordinary task, something you do every day, and decide that just for today, you will do it with awareness. This kind of awareness practice, the more specific the better, is great for fostering a sense of appreciation for the ordinary.
When we pay attention, whatever we are doing, we begin to notice details and textures that we never noticed before; everything becomes clearer, sharper, and at the same time more spacious. Our eyes are opened once again to the miracles of the absolutely ordinary and joy fills our hearts.
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