End of the ordinary world ...

Life consists of some very exciting times ... some troublesome times ... and a whole lot of quite 'ordinary' or 'routine' times. The exciting times take care of themselves - we revel in them and extract great enjoyment from them; the troublesome times, at the other end of the spectrum, usually have a 'shelf life' - they don't last, and they often instruct - the 'ordinary' or 'routine' times are the most common - they fill many hours of each day, each week, each month and each year ... in learning to extract pleasure from 'mundane tasks' we enrich our lives tremendously. Finding joy in the simple things is a very, very powerful way to live a more enriching, more fulfilling life.
The Japanese tea ceremony, the 'Chanoyu' is an example of how something simple (like making and serving tea) can be an immensely satisfying and fulfilling ritual ... but we don't need to look to the exotic for examples of how we can also find joy in simple things ... whether we are working in the garden or taking a shave ... we have opportunity aplenty to be mindful of the so-called ordinary things we do every day. Or perhaps more to the point ... there are no ordinary things ... ultimately it is how we tend to the actions that make up our lives that determine whether things are ordinary or not.
Have a great Christmas everyone ... JBW