Mission Year

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Ordinary Life

I wanted to post something on my blog so that when you lovely people came to check it out, it wouldn't be empty, but I haven't had any spectacular adventures to write about. However, I've been trying to discover contentment in the ordinariness of life. We can't all be Beethovens and Einsteins, after all. So here is a thought instead:

In Medieval times, the music for mass was divided into two parts: the Ordinary and the Proper of the mass. The Proper chants were reserved for special seasons in the liturgical year, such as Christmas or Easter, and the Ordinary chants were sung every day. Because of the repetition, it was the Ordinary songs that would become as second-nature and life-sustaining as breath itself. Like faithful friends, the often sung melodies would journey by one's side through love, loss, joy and suffering. Extraordinary may be new, exciting and spontaneous, but ordinary is familiar, mysterious and constant.

I came across this quote: “Do not ask your children to strive for extraordinary lives. Such striving may seem admirable, but it is the way of foolishness. Help them instead to find the wonder and the marvel of an ordinary life. Show them the joy of tasting tomatoes, apples and pears. Show them how to cry when pets and people die. Show them the infinite pleasure in the touch of a hand. And make the ordinary come alive for them. The extraordinary will take care of itself.” 

Here's wishing you all a wonderfully ordinary day!

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