FollowThis morning, as I set out on my gratitude walk (I walk each morning before I sit down to a computer or laundry, or letter writing) I started thinking about my ordinary life and this ordinary day. A wise woman once told me that life for most is very ordinary and if you can find the joy in that, in simple living, you will be miles ahead of those who are always wishing for something extraordinary to happen, only to be disappointed by their ordinary life.
Before I headed out, I made up some muffins, fed the cat across the street for my traveling neighbours and put out my used clothing for pickup later in the day. I left with the sun shining and feeling thankful – thankful that nothing amazing or earth shattering was happening in my life right now, grateful that everyone was healthy and going about their everyday ordinary lives – my mom getting dressed downstairs, our son at work getting the restaurant ready to open, my husband off to work in his little MG, another son was just getting up, having slept outside underneath the stars, and our daughter, miles away in Scotland, walking home from a regular day at the café – an ordinary beginning for all.
On my walk I encountered all sorts of souls, saying hello to all as they passed me by. I helped a little boy who couldn’t reach the mailbox, post a letter for his mom, I held the door of the bank open for someone to take her tray of coffees in, and I chatted with a lady trying to help another rein in a wayward dog. I dropped in at the local juice place and bought a great spinach smoothie to take to the restaurant where our boy was already working hard. I walked along my ocean route and with the way the sun was shining, it looked like there were beautiful shiny droplets dancing on the water, the kind that follow you as you walk, and the smell of the sea was deafening. I picked up milk at the grocery store and helped a senior cross the road to get out of the way of traffic that was moving much faster than he. Once home, I made those muffins I had started, poured a cup of tea, and chatted with our other son who was planning a day at the beach. I moved on to do a load of laundry, finish a writing assignment, call our daughter to say hello, do a little cooking, and finish a crossword.
It was the best sort of day, one could hope for – quiet, sunny, peace filled, sweet smelling. Nothing amazing or terrible happened. I didn’t accomplish a great deal, didn’t invent something new, or manage to save the world. It was a perfectly ordinary day, and while I didn’t climb any mountains, the view from where I am sitting is pretty spectacular!
