(Maggie, Skye and two friends at summer camp)
My daughter Skye suggested we go see a movie this weekend. We went to see UP! , one of the recent Disney releases. I must confess to you, I love kid’s movies. In the childish antics and humor always appears a hidden message for my soul.
My favorite scene in UP! is when the young scout tells the elderly man how much he loved going to the ice cream store with his father. After getting their cones, the boy and his father would sit on the curb and play a game – the dad counted the blue cars driving by and the boy counted the red ones.
As the scout finishes telling his story he says, “You know, it’s the boring things I seem to remember the most.”
This one line summed up much of my learning the past year. Most of my adult life I’ve had a sense that my life was only meaningful if I was approaching or having a big, exciting moment. I assumed that the small, ordinary, routine moments were unimportant. In fact, I often rushed through them.
I was missing out on so much beauty in life!
Listening to my children giggle in the living room while I do the dishes is joyful. Scrubbing the floors with Skye "helping" me is an adventure. Tucking the little angels in bed each night is something I wouldn't want to miss. Waking up in the early morning hours to make my morning cup of coffee and spend some quiet time in peace is wonderful. Sitting on the couch with my husband after a long day and having a quiet conversation is relaxing.
Little, daily moments like this are full of deep meaning when you are open to experience them. Notice any dread you feel with the ordinary, the routine or the mundane.
Consider stepping back this week and looking at life with fresh eyes. What might you be missing out on?
Loving the ordinary and the extraordinary too,
Patricia Omoqui, The Thought Dr.
