Critically Thinking About the Ordinary: Vol. II

Six months. It has only been six months. Some days are good… and things happen which are incredible, and wonderful, and life-giving. Other days are not good. It takes everything I am just to shower, put on a fresh change of clothing, and eat. 

For six months I binged shows. Listened to Alexa play my favorite songs. Danced to Disney music and recited Hamilton lyrics. I baked scrumptious food and actually opened my Instant Pot and used it. I reorganized, cleaned, replaced, donated, and threw away things that have been needing my attention. I walked miles, consumed the right amount of water, and ate healthier meals. I spent money… and saved money. I almost purchased three houses… and I am still looking for the right one. I Zoomed with my siblings every week and with our children every two weeks. I reimagined, slept, contemplated, evaluated, restructured, redesigned, engaged, and course corrected. I also cried… a lot. Good cries and bad cries. Cries coming from deep within and cries needing to be released just because. Cries for myself and for people I love, and cries for humanity, pain, and injustice. Cries for lives lost and cries for systems that desperately need changing. I cried for hope… and I cried for peace. 

It is easy to focus on the not-so-good days. It is easy to blame COVID-19 and shake my fist at the heavens for interrupting my privileged life. It is easy to whine, stomp my feet, and complain about the unfairness of it all. Truth is, there have been good days and not-so-good days. The ordinary comes with days to dance and days to weep, days to laugh and days to mourn. In the Hebrew Bible (Christians refer to this sacred text as the New Testament.), the writer of Ecclesiastes shares the rhythm of the ordinary in this way:

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away;

A time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A  time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.  

(Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

Life is this amazing and incredible gift of the ordinary. There are good days and bad days woven together in a breathtaking one-of-a-kind tapestry, as days become seasons and seasons become a lifetime. 

On good days, but especially on bad ones, know that you matter.

Katrina