Mastering the mundane

We’ve been using Labor Day weekend to do a bit of Fall Cleaning at home, a part involves finding old hard disks, checking them out, and backing them up.

Somewhat fittingly, I stumbled across a note from a talk (I’m not 100% who gave it… If you know leave a comment) I heard 15 or more years ago.

Mastering the Mundane...

• the opportunity of days,
• the grace of responsibility,
• the communion of meals,
• the unguardedness of sleep,
• the ceremony of washing,
• the discipline of study,
• the joy of routine,
• the possibility of decisions,
• the discovery of repetition,
• the revelation of conversation,
• the progress of travel,
• the enlargement of thinking,
• the observation of the ordinary,
• the potential of crowds,
• the wonder of monotony,
• the thankfulness of breath,
• the fruitfulness of waiting,
• the divinity of rest, and
• the satisfaction of work.

I live a pretty frenetic and busy life both activity-wise and mentally. Some of this is environmental, most of this is my own making, and almost all of it I love… But it’s important to be reminded to appreciate and steward the simple and sometimes boring things too. I think most people who find themselves reading this could relate to that idea in some way.

To me, this is a beautiful list of the moments of peace, rest, and gratitude that are waiting to be captured on an average day.

Enjoy.

#simpleisstrong