The Value Of The Ordinary

   When I was a kid, my mother would show me our calendar as an important event approached. She would point to the day we were in and show how many days had to pass before Christmas Day or my birthday would arrive. 

When Ordinary Days Seemed Unimportant

   Mom would commandeer my forefinger and count each square to give my young brain a concept of how far away the event was. Every night she would have me draw a large ‘X’ on the day now over. 

   I remember being impatient for all of those pointless, unimportant days to get out of the way so we would finally arrive at the special day. 

The Older We Get, The Faster Time Moves

   It’s interesting how getting older changes our perspective of passing time. 

   As an adult, there seems to be a rapid fire succession of special events and not nearly enough of the nondescript days to give us margin between them. 

   I no longer wish time away. There are no unimportant days to squander. Each sunrise feels like it brings more weight and urgency than yesterday. 

   I recall asking a co-worker how he was, only to get a reply something like Same crap, different day.   

   Really?

   I couldn’t help but imagine many years from now, while on his deathbed, if he wouldn’t regret dismissing a perfectly good day as useless while clinging to hours left. 

   Regular boring days become priceless when you have a limited number of them.

   Spoiler Alert. We all have a limited number. 

Living For The Weekend 

  You’ll see many have this mindset in a workplace, drudging through the week to get to the glorious weekend. 

   Through gritted teeth they’ll say,

    Half way there 

    One more to go!

   The issue is that people will actually enjoy only 2/7ths of their life. That’s a poor return for a dwindling resource like time.

The Never Ending Question: Now What?

   Society conditions us to think like this from a young age. When we’re in grade school, we learn everything required to advance to the next grade. We earn the credits and proceed up the ladder. Then we set our sights on Middle School. We do the hard work to be qualified to get into High School. 

   If we study diligently, we will eventually graduate! 

   Wait. There’s more. Now it’s the university to conquer. Then post-graduate studies. 

   Because we need the skills and education to land in a good spot in the workforce. 

   Wherever you may be now, there’s always room to grow and improve, a better position or a bigger company. 

   It never stops, unless we zoom out and gain perspective. It’s possible to re-condition our minds with the wisdom to jump off the merry-go-round and realize each day counts.

   Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Rom 12:2 BSB

   The ‘What comes next?’  mindset is not unlike the donkey with a carrot dangling just out of reach, causing him to walk towards what he’ll never reach.

The Quiet Value Of A Average Day

   There are no pointless, unimportant days. 

   Weekdays are as valuable as the weekends, just different routines. The months between major holidays offer more opportunity for leisure, rest, good conversations and quality time than the big celebrations do.

   Holidays are special but they carry baggage. Along with deadlines, they may involve travel, special meals, added expense, extended family and more stress. 

   The average Thursday usually doesn’t include any of those.  

   When you make a habit of living in the present moment, you lose much of the breathless What’s Next?! vibe that grows imperceptibly.

   Most people have never learned that one of the main aims in life is to enjoy it.  Samuel Butler

   So today, savor the present moment. See the regular and routine for the blessing it is. Resist being overly eager to draw an ‘X’ through the square. Once you do, it never comes back.