There is an ad on the TV that had me thinking. It claims that people do not celebrate or talk about or show pictures of ordinary moments or things. It goes on to show a family having the most amazing vacation-running on the beach because people deserve more than ordinary. Let's face it-most of us have daily ordinary moments. Work can be ordinary. Weekends can be ordinary and predicable. For me the ordinary thing is to be home-puttering, writing, cleaning and enjoying some down time. Maybe the grandchildren will come over! The whole idea if life is not amazing or over the top with excitement then what? Perhaps ordinary can be promoted as life. The constant hunt for razzle dazzle can make life exhausting! Back to the ad-the family running on the beach looked like every other family enjoying a vacation! Quite ordinary to me! So do these ordinary moments add up to a wonderful life! I believe it! By stopping and relishing what is in front of us rather than seeking more and more, life can be good. No problem with wanting to take items off the old bucket list! No problem with wanting to do something special and different-sure helps in the romance world! No problem with changing a routine to include new adventures or activities! Ordinary activities, however, can keep us grounded and allow many tasks to be completed. Garbage day, for example, is very ordinary but necessary. Pictures of family events like birthdays are ordinary but help to fill an album or cell phone file or wherever your picture are store. Group shots make interesting photos! Competition exists to discover who is doing more! The proverbial-how was your weekend! No matter what I do there are others who want to claim their weekend was better, busier or more exciting! So what is my usual answer- my ordinary answer- "busy just like everyone else!" It keeps those competitors at bay! There can be a put down of ordinary! For example, if TV is an activity there are many people that say-I don't have time to watch TV! No time to read a book or write a letter/email or do much because their life is too exciting! Think of the ordinary moments that bring pleasure! Reading a book to a child before sleeping! The first cup of coffee in the morning! If you go to a funeral, look at the picture board-it has those ordinary pictures like everyone else has taken- family activities, school, childhood and favourite activities! A wonderful life can consist of many ordinary moments strung together! Some events are not ordinary like waiting for the new grandchild to arrive, seeing your granddaughter at her recital or hearing your spouse excited about his weight loss! So can ordinary be okay! Can a family have an ordinary vacation and have a great time? Can your ordinary day bring you joy? What do you think?
Good post! Made me think that what we might think ordinary now would once have been extraordinary. Think of a flight across Canada in a matter of hours. Think of reheating a cup of coffee in the microwave. Think of using a digital camera and seeing your photos immediately. Think of banking over the Internet. So many things we now consider ordinary were once thought impossible.
ReplyDeleteActually you make sense. I just think too many people want too much. Taking a step back and just enjoying what is in front of us! Don't some people complain their internet isn't fast enough! Their phone only has so many apps etc. Yes the extraordinary has become our modern ordinary!
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