Extraordinary In The Ordinary

Everyday we get up and go through the motions of our routine; we brush our hair, brush our teeth, eat breakfast, and move on with thoughts about our work days. As we plug through our workday, we move from one task to another, occasionally stopping for a chat with coworkers or friends before returning our our task. We look forward to the lunch break where we sit down and eat while simultaneously cruising through our Facebook and other social media feeds unsure how we could have possibly eaten that whole sandwich already, simply because we weren't paying attention. We then finish the tasks of the day and drive home, sometimes forgetting how we got there as it has become so routine. At night, we are found making dinner, chasing the kids, putting everyone to bed and sitting down to watch our favorite episode of Chicago Fire or The Bachelor.

This has been my routine for so long. I can multitask with the best of them. I used to pride myself on my ability to multitask. I did it so well that I rarely remember conversations or even stopped for conversations for that matter. I was running a million miles an hour and people were in aw of how many things I could get done in a day, which further encouraged me to do more. My head was chaotic, my body was fast moving and my stomach and IBS were in overload. When my body made me take a break through illness, I found myself practicing meditation and yoga more often. I knew the reasons behind why I should be mindful or what it means to be mindful and I placed a lot of these strategies into practice, occasionally catching small moments here and there where I could feel myself experiencing every bit of a moment in time such as kissing my son goodnight or going on a good trail ride. I would always finish with a promise to myself for the next day that I would allow more meaning to flow into my day and be present for activities taking place; yet, I would wake up and the same day would repeat, time and time again. Weekends were packed so full I couldn't tell if I felt refreshed or overwhelmed by Sunday night.

As I tried to escape COVID-19 and continue living my routine and mundane life, I found myself fighting to get away from news stations, radios and people who were chatting about it. As we got closer to the quarantine, I found myself avoiding my email box as everyone was doing something about the virus, even those that didn't' need a statement (google....ahem). Anyways, I found myself fighting my own thoughts. I felt unsettled and clung to the normalcy of my routine. As days pushed forward and we moved into quarantine, I found that I couldn't fight it anymore. Things were shutting down, my routine was changing and I hated it. I felt upset and out of sorts. I was reminded that this is why my job exists... Occupation, routine, productivity and responsibilities are crucial to our mental and physical health. As I have began to accept what 'is,' I find myself in a completely different place, finding the extraordinary and ordinary. Mindfulness unintentionally crept in to my breakfast including the muffin and its texture and taste, my son's hair and the way it still smells like 'baby' as he sits on my lap, taking time to allow him to run around while he procrastinates for bed, watching a smile light his face as he thinks he gets away with it. I am enjoying time lying with my husband in the morning, not rushing to get up and go somewhere. I hear the birds with more clarity and man can they sing! All I have is time. Time to socialize, time to do one task at a time, awareness of how strong my toothpaste feels on my tongue. Time to find the extraordinary in the ordinary.

My routines have changed. All of the things that I told myself I would be mindful about 'someday,' I have been forced to be mindful about now. It feels different, good different. It is not in any logical order or anything that feels like a sustainable routine, but right now, that's OK. The world is chaotic and previous routines are not within our control. I am creating a new normal; a normal that persists with things that are within my control. As I begin to place these meaningful activities into my days, I am hoping that my fear about what is happening in the outside world will continue to diminish as I find relief and curiosity as I sense the things around me that I have been missing within my 'everyday'.

I challenge you today to find meaning in your mundane. Think about the ways that you are fighting change and allow yourself to accept what 'is.' I love the mantra that Brene Brown has used in the past, "Right now, it's like this." It gives you the permission to accept what 'is' in this moment, but know that its only 'right now,' not forever. After acceptance, allow yourself to be open to the things that are changing in your habits and routines and how they make you feel. What feelings and emotions do you draw from them? How is this different than what you normally do? Its a beautiful day for mindfulness.