In Praise of Being Ordinary

Hi, welcome to your Daily Mindfulness. Today I'm going to talk about the beauty in being ordinary. You know, we live in an age with a very high regard for extraordinary lives, that is lives that the vast majority of us are never going to lead. That didn't really sound. That sounded a bit funny on that word, I think.

Do you mind if I just roll again? Hi. And welcome to your Daily Mindfulness. Today I'm going to talk about the beauty in being ordinary. You know, we live in an age with a very high regard for extraordinary lives, that is, lives that the vast majority of us are never going to lead. In the media, we see displays of people with huge amounts of wealth, extraordinary talent, dazzling looks and heroic virtue.

The constant display of these extraordinary lives is both inspiring and impressive. And also at the same time, it can be a bit depressing for us. We can kind of be a source of dissatisfaction when we compare our lives to all these glossy images and golden achievements. But in the silence of meditation, we are at one, both with ourselves and the world around us. All comparisons fall away.

We're no better or worse than anyone. We let go of it, all the labels, the stories, the achievements, or the lack thereof. In that moment, we're simply human. Our hearts are beating, our lungs are breathing. We're an interconnected part of nature and the whole evolving universe.

In silence, the ordinariness of being human becomes extraordinary. I think there's something so deeply connecting and valuable about really seeing our common humanity. You know, no matter what we look like, what we wear, what we've achieved or attained, when we sit down and enter that silence, none of it matters. We're all the same at a really fundamental level. We all have hopes and fears and dreams.

We all experience suffering and we all want to be happy. And we're all here together, sharing this snapshot of time in the vast expense of an ever evolving universe. Meditation is extraordinary because it opens us up to what we see so rarely. You know, we're often so caught up in wanting and comparing and thinking. We don't take the time to pause from all of that and realize just how interconnected we are with every other human and the web of life, all around us.

So as we meditate together today, let's recognize the extraordinariness in our ordinariness. So as was always thank you for your practice and your presence here with us, and let's settle in for today's meditation.