A few weeks ago I posted about stopping to take stock during a difficult period (When the Rain Came).
To use the same analogy it feels like the rain’s stopped at the moment. It’s not sunny, perhaps a little grey and overcast; my feet are dry and comfortable and I’m trudging along the next stage of my journey.
The landscape feels pretty unremarkable – familiar terrain, a route I’ve been on before. There have been no major epiphanies/catastrophes/startling new insights – just ‘normal’ life, whatever that is!
It feels a bit of a relief really.
A friend made me chuckle the other day; although I only write a new blog post once a week, I ‘recycle’ older posts much more frequently on LinkedIn and Facebook – he’d seen that daily feed of posts and commented “blimey, how many major breakthroughs and key insights can one woman have – it must be exhausting!”
Although of course I’m not quite at the level of intensity of reflection the LinkedIn posts imply, it is true that these last couple of years have been a particularly rich period of triumphs and tribulations, so it’s actually feeling pleasant to have a spell of relative ‘dullness’.
I don’t know how long it will last, but that doesn’t matter – I’ll use the time to get into my stride and embed and reflect on what I’ve learned.
I’m conscious of my nagging inner critic trying to say “but you’re so boring! Everyone else lives much more interesting lives, you should be doing more!”
But, you know, I’m not going to listen to my inner critic.
I think there’s something heroic in the humdrum, marvellous in the mundane. I like ordinary; there’s nothing wrong with it, as long as I savour each moment with a beginners mind – full of curiosity and wonder.
And when I do that, even though I may be in familiar terrain, I’ll notice and enjoy something fresh and new. I don’t need to climb Kilimanjaro, or swim with dolphins, or compete in marathons to have a life full of love, joy, fulfilment and growth.
I have everything I need, it’s simply a question of noticing, appreciating, and using it…
