I love, MUNDANE
So much of living is MUNDANE. So much of our daily life is MUNDANE. But it is in our daily lives, it is in living where we can find LOVE. This section may be the most important space to discuss LOVE that we see, receive, give, and cultivate because daily living is our most frequent experience in life.
This space is for the MUNDANE. Everyday we participate in the lifeblood of LOVE by doing small tasks, showing up in small ways, all of which we think goes unnoticed or is unimportant. But it is in the margins where LOVE continues to grow. LOVE is showing up to a work meeting on time. LOVE is a small squeeze of a pet on your way out the door. LOVE is pouring fruit into your breakfast bowl. Every little act, every MUNDANE step is us participating in the greater flow of the universe that creates life. And it is LOVE that creates life.
I have been fascinated with the word MUNDANE for many years now, starting with a simple book. In the City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, I fell in fascination with this word. MUNDANE to Clare was the normal, the typical, those who live but remain unaware of the unseen world around them. First it is meant to be boring, or represent the life you didn't want to live. But then it became more. It became the world that those in the unseen world wished to live, at times: basic and simple. Basic and simple lead to simple pleasures. Simple pleasures bring joy and reminds us to LOVE more. It became the world that the main character brings into the unseen world, which ends up shaking the boring part of the unseen world out. Noticing LOVE in the MUNDANE allows the MUNDANE to make the boring, thrilling.
Here, we are just going to discuss LOVE in the smallest of ways.
Can you see it?
Waiting at the Register
But this woman stood quietly and patiently for at least five minutes, enough time for me to notice her already waiting, ring up my items, and leave, before anyone helped her. She did not get irritated or snippy, she just waited. I wanted to say something to her like, "Wow, thank you for modeling such LOVE through patience," or something like that but I was honestly at a loss for words witnessing her waiting.
SeaTac
You find yourself stopping to look, stopping to grab a bite and sit, stopping to maybe even breathe. And if you find yourself at the foot of the massive windows, on a rocking chair, staring at the majestic Pacific Northwest pines, you might even forget about rushing to your gate. You might feel as if you arrived already. You might be reminded of why you LOVE traveling, in addition to your LOVE of arriving.
Eavesdropping
Maybe eavesdropping is not all that bad. Maybe eavesdropping to find LOVE in the MUNDANE can make your day. Have you listened in to find LOVE in someone else's MUNDANE?
The State of Marriage
Maybe we do need to change our situation; maybe we need to start remembering that the LOVE we cultivate in marriage exists only in the MUNDANE.
The Journey, not the Destination
But what made this stop different was the first sip. We ordered our coffee, grabbed them to go, and hopped back in the car to start our long day of driving. And then my love took his first sip. "Oh my goodness!" he shouted, startling me and exciting me all in one second. "This is amazing!" He was grinning from ear to ear.
California to Alabama
I felt slowed by the conversation. I felt like the rush of just-getting-there was alleviated by this man. Just a casual, MUNDANE conversation struck up by a stranger stopped me long enough to breathe and enjoy.
Just Say, “I’m Figuring It Out”
This time period in my job world has made it harder for me to see the LOVE in the MUNDANE. Truthfully, the MUNDANE has felt, well, just like that … MUNDANE. But something I realized in this moment at coffee is that LOVE does not stop existing in the MUNDANE. Even if I cannot see it, even if it is hard to see it. LOVE still moves even when the MUNDANE feels MUNDANE.
Dancing Alone in Your House
She then challenged us to do it. No pressure, but just captioned her own video with, "I challenge you to dance alone in your house." So eventually I did. I was feeling silly and sad, like I had a lot I was holding, so I set up my camera, put on "Uptown Funk," and I danced.
Friendly Neighbors
Casual, usual, friendly comments from neighbors allowed that LOVE to be shared. And the only connection was a pet. What is interesting about these kinds of exchanges is that they often do not carry outside of the moment, as if a small shot of LOVE was thrown back by strangers who became momentary friends, and then continued on in the day as strangers. But if LOVE is made in the cracks, these moments are essential to the maintenance of the flow of LOVE. What a MUNDANE reminder to participate!
Forty-eight Years
You have to call out LOVE, even MUNDANE LOVE, if you want to be able to see it when the rest of the world seems to be getting worse and worse. Because the truth is LOVE is always there; the difference is our habit to look for it.
Can I Take Your Picture?
Isn't it kind of weird how sometimes true moments of LOVE come from those we're suppose to teach how to LOVE? It is just so natural in them. Maybe we need to be learning from them instead. Don’t you think?
Espresso for Royalty
LOVE is in the little, the little MUNDANE things that connect you to the greater story that is all of ours and the unique story that is only yours.
High Schoolers at Coffee
Maybe something we can learn from the MUNDANE, child-ish, simple conversations of high schoolers is that it may not always be good to ask those questions. It may be better, at times, to do a polar plunge. It may be better to push aside all the facts that misalign and still stay so interested in the potential of LOVE.