In The New Yorker, November 26, 2007, this poem was published …
Our life is ordinary,
I read in a crumpled paper
abandoned on a bench.
Our life is ordinary,
the philosophers told me.Ordinary life, ordinary days and cares,
a concert, a conversation,
strolls on the town’s outskirts,
good news, bad—but objects and thoughts
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/11/26/ordinary-life
were unfinished somehow,
rough drafts.
I love the phrase, “our lives are rough drafts!” In school, in some work we can polish our work. But in life, we don’t get that opportunity very often. Do-overs are not common. Instead, we live in the ordinary, the typical daily events of life. Once done, it’s done without the chance, the opportunity to edit, re-do, or polish. We are rough drafts.
With that in mind, we need to recognize God in the ordinariness of life because otherwise we will miss him. There is little opportunity to edit, re-do, or polish, to add God back in. Once done, the moment is gone.
Today I celebrate the ordinary life … and seek to hear the music and rhythm of poetry in my day …
… from the rich fragrance of coffee –
to the sparkling sunshine of the day,
the comfort of well-worn clothing
the quiet reading of books on my shelf
the joyful sounds of children playing
the ordinariness of dining, dishes, and dusting …
I look for God in my day … in the ordinariness of it all …
“And he walks with me and he talks with me And he tells me I am his own.”
Enjoy his presence today in the “stuff” of your life!
