This post is inspired by Elora’s blog entry yesterday in Just Off the One-Lane Road. Her entry was about that which goes unnoticed. As I viewed her photos of moss, lichen, and bark I found myself thinking of how much I enjoy photographing those three subjects. Bark, lichen, and moss are so ordinary that we forget to really see them, yet they hold infinite beauty and life. I photographed the moss in the first two photos, over a course of several months. I fell in love with it. I would even say that we had a relationship. That little moss gave me a great deal of joy, and taught me to delight in the ordinary.
This lesson has extended to my life: mindfulness, presence, and joy in the ordinary. Meditation is another way that I am learning to be present with and appreciate the ordinary. It teaches me to let go of the story line and simply be present with what is. Through this practice I am learning to approach all of life in this way. Even mucking a horse stall can bring pleasure.
There are ordinary things that I don’t enjoy (like cleaning the house), but I am discovering that when I approach the chore with a sense of acceptance, I am much more likely to find something gratifying there. Sometimes I just have to slow down, take a deep breath, and reframe what I’m facing. That simple practice often brings the shift in attitude I need in order to move forward with a sense of mindfulness and gratitude.
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