Sacredness in the Mundane

there is a
sacredness
in the mundane,
in every day
life.

we only have to
s l o w d o w n . . .

to 
see it
feel it
taste it
breathe it
BE it.

. . .

I really believe this is my life’s calling. It’s a simple life calling, and a difficult out-of-reach one at the same time. My life’s calling is to slow down, to overcome the rush and anxiety that has pervaded me for the entirety of my years on earth, and to put words to the frustration and subsequent peace this calling elicits. Life is paradoxical … and simple and hard and beautiful and heart-wrenching and confusing and joyful. Ahh, this being human truly is a guest house, as Rumi wrote hundreds of years ago. We simply cannot know who or what to expect from one day to the next.

I am most at peace and can exude that same peace to others when I am home, when it is quiet, in nature and/or when I am writing regularly (because if I don’t my mind is like a championship ping pong match). During these times I see the simple beauty that is everywhere. When my mind is quiet, I can feel the peace inside of me, a peace that reverberates inside of me and ripples outward. It’s a place that seemingly begins inside, but it is the connection to all that is that allows it to spark. How can it be any other way? I am a unique, divine human being, but I am only divine because of where I come from, because of the life force that animates all of us … the source, the spark, the soul of everything.

The trouble is, this peaceful feeling is fleeting. I only catch it in glimpses; it’s not a constant state of bliss—I wish! There is noise, distraction, other people’s energy, comparison, expectations (my own and others), and so many other things that detract from the peace I seek.

I used to think I had to ‘be good’ to get to heaven and I think about how righteous I must’ve seemed constantly trying to ‘be good.’ Thank goodness my worldview is much bigger, and being good is pretty subjective anyway. I do strive to live the best way I know how, to be kind to others, to care about others’ well being, to do no harm … but what strikes me as the most important lesson to live on this earth is to embody my fullness, my full human-ness; to learn to love myself enough to get out of my own way, to accept myself, flaws and all, to enjoy the beauty here, to live in the grace that is so readily given and to love, even when its hard.

So, I return, again and again, to the simple things in life: a hot cup of tea, a quiet walk in the woods, a good book, soothing (or loud, funky, interesting) music, the eyes of my child, the smile on my beloved’s face, yummy food, a conscious breath.

Life, to me, is about all of these sacred, mundane, seemingly inconsequential moments and about paying attention to them as best I can. It’s also ultimately about being my full human self and always returning to love, the place from which I came in the first place.