“Finding joy in the ordinary is magical” is actually an understatement. I am an Enneagram Type 7 and a curse of this Type is to always be looking for something better, something higher, something bigger… something new, greener, or more exciting…. This drivenness, leading to lots of future focus and endless planning, comes from the old belief that only something extraordinary will bring joy, aliveness, wellbeing, and that I gotta make it happen.
It took me decades, but slowly and surely I began to really get it, feel it, notice how this habit not only took me out of the present moment…a huge trap in itself. But more insidiously, it led to not being able to appreciate what is, what is right in front of me… whether it might be a freshly made latte, or the fluttering of the leaves on our ordinary, extraordinary, magical Copper Beech tree as the raindrops hit them, or a tiny hummingbird drinking at our feeder, or connecting with my sweetie with a smile, or with a stranger on the street, with my family via zoom, or at the border or, praise be, in person! While the change has been incremental, it has also been fundamental and lasting. Miracles do happen 🙂
Interestingly, scientific studies cited in the Berkeley Greater Good Science Center newsletter, are showing that uncertainty, which is not in short supply these days, serves as an opportunity to savor the ordinary, the small, the local things in our lives.. and creates greater well-being.
What are some of the ways that lead you to overlook potential joyful moments in your life? What are some of the ways you can find and savour joy?
Finding joy in the ordinary is magical! I really loved the Enneagram Institute’s message this morning and would like to share the wisdom with you. “Find the joy of the ordinary. The amazing thing is that when we are present, all of our experiences are extraordinary. Each moment is a unique source of delight and amazement.“
Here is an excerpt from a note that I wrote sometime ago for your consideration. Check out Eclipse: Ordinary and Extraordinary.
We’ve heard,”Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good”. Good advice, seems to me. (Thanks Voltaire.) Well, it struck me how the extraordinary can very easily become the enemy of the ordinary.
How close the two can be — how they are just a slight adjustment in point-of-view — much like yin and yang, one is actually contained in the other.
What richness and blessings there are in the ordinary.
How much more readily we can attune to that richness and those blessings if we don’t have a preference for the extraordinary, or a need to have things be special.
What a deep spiritual, mindfulness practice it is to be fully present to the ordinary. This practice of presence, turns the ordinary into nothing less than miracle after miracle.
Jill Schroder is the author of BECOMING: Journeying Toward Authenticity. BECOMING is an invitation for self-reflection, and to mine our memorable moments for insights, meaning, andgrowth. Check the website for a sample chapter, or see the reviews to get a flavor for the volume. Follow me on Twitter, let’s be friends on Facebook 🙂
