Reflections: Most Ordinary…
“Good and bad are but names very readily transferable to that or this; the only right is what is after my constitution, the only wrong what is against it.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
Reflections: Most Ordinary... there is much beauty in a simple flower...
Today’s prompt on seeing the beauty and importance in the ordinary is quite fascinating. Typically, we are coaxed to seek the exhilarating and exciting things in life and to stay away from the mundane. But as I read the prompt below and thought about it, it made perfect sense to me. We can’t get to the extraordinary unless we do the ordinary well. Everything we do starts with the ordinary; get out of bed, bath, eat, practice our craft at a desk, in a studio or in a class, and after years of hard work, viola – extraordinary! Essentially, what others declare as genius is hard work that met inspiration. Some of the so-called ordinary kids in my high school are now living extraordinary lives and we all can too. When we look around us, there is so much beauty in nature’s simplicity; what some of us take for granted as (instead of expressing gratitude) so… ordinary.
#Trust30 is an online initiative and 30-day writing challenge. The #Trust30 Prompt: We are our most potent at our most ordinary. And yet most of us discount our “ordinary” because it is, well, ordinary. Or so we believe. But my ordinary is not yours. Three things block us from putting down our clever and picking up our ordinary: false comparisons with others (I’m not as good a writer as _____), false expectations of ourselves (I should be on the NYTimes best seller list or not write at all), and false investments in a story (it’s all been written before, I shouldn’t bother). What are your false comparisons? What are your false expectations? What are your false investments in a story? List them. Each keep you from that internal knowing about which Emerson writes. Each keeps you from making your strong offer to the world. Put down your clever, and pick up your ordinary.
If our false comparisons, expectations or investments are getting in the way of our creativity, what do we plan to do about it? One thing I have observed and learned in life is that the more I do me and focus less on how it compares to what others are doing, the more at peace I become. Do You! I can’t count how many times I’ve heard people speak about a successful inventor of X who developed and ran with an idea they thought was ordinary… Until we stop discounting our simple, inner promptings as irrelevant; too ordinary, we will miss the chance to fully embrace and use our gifts. What do you think? 😉
“Success is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.” Jim Rohn
Reflections: Most Ordinary... those ducklings soon become full grown contributors
When I joined the Daily Post challenge in January, I agonized over what to write and how to write. I even felt some frustration over it because I wanted to make sure that my contributions were beneficial and I struggled with it. Comparisons with other bloggers didn’t help and I had to quickly dispense of that attitude. Over time, I had to make peace with my writing and write what I know and what I felt prompted to share; be it via the prompts or on my own ordinary take on life.
It no longer matters if my post is witty or slick… What matters is that I stay true to what I feel and what I share and I am grateful that my silent readers keep coming back, and that my blog buddies appreciate my posts as much as I do theirs. We can all make headway with our plans when we do the work and not plan the parade before the work. What about you? What are your thoughts? Do you see the extraordinary in the ordinary? Do you find yourself seeking excitement constantly or being at peace with variety? Do share! Thank you. 😉
Positive Motivation Tip: When we are at peace with the simple things that keep us going, we find that life’s magical inspiring gifts come looking for us… Be at peace with ordinary days.
This post was inspired by a prompt from RalphWaldoEmerson.me: What are your false comparisons? What are your false expectations? What are your false investments in a story? List them. Each keep you from that internal knowing about which Emerson writes. Each keeps you from making your strong offer to the world. Put down your clever, and pick up your ordinary.
PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: Photos via my personal collection.
Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet
the only right is what is after my constitution, the only wrong what is against it.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
yes, to compare makes us wrong, a fish swimming in a wrong tank,
– so “pick up your ordinary” write (and live) without masquerade … 🙂
authentically writing makes your readers satisfied … – your followers are many, you know …
Seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary is one of the great pleasures in life, and it’s free which should never be under estimated
One thing I have observed and learned in life is that the more I do me and focus less on how it compares to what others are doing, the more at peace I become.
So true!
I used to be quite the adventure seeker, although it was tempered for an appreciation of the things around me; those things meant comfort in hard times. Now, I occasionally get to do the big stuff, but I’ve become much more comfortable in seeing the wonder in small things . . . thirty-pound, boy-shaped things, to be precise, and all the small wonders correlated. 😀
This was such a nice inspiration for some very ordinary things that I feel I’m avoiding, but which very much need my attention.
Variety is the spice of life, I always say. I also believe it’s worth looking for the extraordinary in the everyday things we do and see.
Thanks!
b
I am at peace with the ordinary . . . and the extraordinary . . . moments in life.
It’s all good! 😀
This reminds me of my one of mother’s favorite sayings – “learn to love being ordinary in an extraordinary world.”
What’s that quote? Something about 10% inspiration, 90% perspiration! So true!
Thanks for entering my give-away!!
As I read this, something one of my best friends from high school said in my presence came back to me: You were so bright, she said. I can’t remember if she added, What happened to you? but it was certainly implied.
I’ve tried to do the things that resonated with me, even if it wasn’t glamorous or extraordinary.
I am definitly at peace with the simplicity of life. Coming from past years of turmoil and strife, I’ve learned to enjoy the simple things in life. I love adventure, but lets keep it simple ! 🙂 Good Post !!
Ordinary can be extraordinary if written to be so. 🙂
I love this post!
AND I love how everyone has a different writer’s voice within them and their blogs all sound different. I think it would be utterly boring if EVERY blog was exactly the same. It’s wonderful and refreshing to read so many different opinions, perspectives and viewpoints.
I have read some blogs and thought, WOW, they are a way better writer than me…but writing like them is not the way I know to write. So I try to just write what’s on my mind and what I feel and hope someone else would think it’s interesting enough to read! 🙂
Your posts are always interesting to me!
photographers generally find the extraordinary in the ordinary
‘From now on I vow I will try to act the part of a person
TEN TIMES bigger than I am now, for by so doing,
I construct greater powers in my own brain which will
actually build me into such a leader. I refuse to longer be confined
by the shadowy walls which heretofore have cramped
me into a narrow sphere. From this day forth the word ‘limit’
is banished from my mind.