Celebrating The Ordinary Miracle

Groom asked me this morning what I was going to write about. I was mulling over an idea and as if to seal the deal, I was given a beautiful song that sets the tone for today’s entry. Please take a moment, well, three minutes and four seconds, more or less, and click on this address www.youtube.com/watch?v=INCGOrNBexQ to listen and read the lyrics of Sarah McLachlan’s Ordinary Miracle.

For the last several weeks, I’ve been describing the journey we’re taking with our jewelry, writing, photography and University classes and while there’s still more to say on the subject, I’m in the mood for something else.

Every good story begins with Trouble walking onto the scene. At the beginning, readers, viewers and listeners are given a quick glimpse of a character’s life until…Until they lose their job, a spouse runs away with the neighbor, a child gets sick, somebody is kidnapped, or a business partner steals all the cash. Reminds me of that joke about playing a country & western song backwards, the pickup truck starts, the dog comes home and the wife never leaves in the first place.

There’s no story without Trouble. Here, let me show you. Once upon a time, there was a couple and they lived happily ever after.

Once upon a time a rich man won the lottery.

Once upon a time, a person had an idea for a book. She sat down, and without interruption, the words flowed easily. Before “the end” was typed, agents, editors and publishers were knocking down her door. A bidding war ensued and the new author was given the most lucrative contract in literary history and the book became a best seller overnight and she ended up as a frequent guest on Oprah.

Wow, I just told you three stories within a few sentences. Yawn.

Oh, without struggle, conflict or turmoil, there’s no excitement and the characters won’t have a chance to see what they’re made of, or come out the other side changed in some way. So while Trouble is a necessary ingredient to Story, the Ordinary is where the characters are trying to return. While Trouble gets all the attention, Ordinary is often the quiet hero.

It does not matter how boring or mundane aspects of our everyday life might be, it is those same “dull” things human beings crave when they are deprived.

When I was a teenager, I hurt my leg and it required many weeks in a full length cast to heal. Suddenly, all the activities I took for granted were prohibited or significantly altered. Moving about the house on crutches became a challenge as did using the restroom, bathing, or going from here to there. I was a cashier at the local drug store and I can tell you, it was super fun trying to stay upright while totaling everybody’s purchases. Suddenly, I had to work much harder for the same pay rate.

When a beloved pet, friend or relative dies, I think we’d all give anything in the world to have them back, to have our world return to normal. When an earthquake hits, the electricity goes out, snow dumps, rivers flood, life as we know it gets put on hold and sometimes, it does not go back to the way it was.

This then, is about noticing and celebrating the Ordinary while we have it and not waiting for life to grab us by the ankles, hanging us upside down from a twenty-story window begging for mercy.

In our ordinary life, well-intentioned people often ask us, “So what do you do with all your free time?” If I had dentures, I’d probably have swallowed them by now, like my hoary uncle once did, from surprise. Free time?!

But I suppose the idea of living the life of a studio artist might conjure up images that involve sleeping late, consuming copious amounts of coffee and wine, lots of doodling, drooling and daydreaming, watching bad afternoon TV, vacillating between angst and euphoria, and being otherwise fiscally and hygienically irresponsible.

I kept a letter to the Editor from the now famous, at least in certain circles, A. Warren Herrigel. And I quote, “…but never have I seen a more repulsive assemblage of unkempt and unwashed hirsute ragamuffins, laggards, and misfits than I saw at the Saturday Market.”

Ah, the reputation of artists. As members of the Saturday Market since 1991, I bet some folks, A. Warren Herrigel included, might be surprised to discover we set our alarm for 6am most mornings, shower every day, keep the house clean, have a huge tea selection, eat proper meals, take exercise, save all our receipts, claim our income, have an accountant, pay our taxes, wear stylish clothes, and actually work, even if it means commuting to the living room.

Groom and I were taking an early walk this morning and I couldn’t help but notice how many people were climbing into their cars, setting down mugs of steaming coffee on vehicle rooftops while they fumbled bleary-eyed with their keys, the ritual of going to work repeated block after block.

With cameras in tow, I smiled knowing that while I had lots to do, I was not scheduled to be at a job at 8am and could take my break first thing in the morning if I chose and shoot some pictures before settling in to earn my daily bread.

My thoughts, however, drifted from my day toward those of the people climbing into their cars. They did have to be somewhere by 8am and while we usually encounter folks at their jobs, it was a rare glimpse to see how they do it. Every person you encounter throughout the day, had at one point, to climb out of bed whether they wanted to or not, do some kind of morning ritual and actually transport themselves from home to work. For free.

I experienced this huge moment of gratitude. I am so thankful for every person who fights the sleepy monster and shows up to work. If people didn’t make the effort, we couldn’t mail a letter, cook food on our electric stove, or have Internet service. When I ate breakfast, I thought of all the effort it took to plant the food, harvest it, move it, sell it and prepare it.

I am thrilled somebody is willing to get up in the wee hours and haul away my recycling. I love that I can turn on the tap and have water. I like it that I can go to the library and check out a book, go to the theater and be entertained, or know there are plumbers, mechanics, doctors and candle makers a phone call away.

To all of you, thank you. For those of you who stay home, I thank you as well. Our homes and neighborhoods need to be looked after, to have a loving presence felt which keeps us safe. To those of you who write poetry, cook food, garden, paint, play music, mop floors, stock shelves, teach children, thank you. Each person is valuable and your contribution is greatly appreciated.

As this week includes Valentine’s Day, we wish you all a day of feeling truly loved and valued. And what, pray tell, do any of these photos have to do with anything? They are ordinary moments we saw, walking in our neighborhood. Imagine my delight, when I turned a corner this morning and saw a plum tree already blooming! Daffodils are peeking their heads above ground, Daphne’s intoxicating perfume giving me goosebumps, one last leaf clinging for dear life.

Here’s to appreciating the “ordinary miracles” in our lives.