My Experiments in the Practice of Everyday Life

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October 29, 2006
3 Comment

This Sunday: a quote from Marilynne Robinson.

“When things are taking their ordinary course, it is hard to remember what matters.”
–Marilynne Robinson, Gilead

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  • Sharyn

    You may think I’m a little nutty with all these comments (yes, I do have a life), but so much of this rings such a bell for me!
    “Ordinary” really HELPS me remember what matters! This quote speaks to me of something I think of very often – how wonderful “ordinary” is, how what’s “ordinary” is what truly matters – waking up next to your spouse each day, taking your kids to school, going to work each day. It’s so easy to think the same old, same old is boring (and I do like to try new things, travel, etc.), but what matters, what there is to be truly happy about, is in the ordinary moments. I try to think about “you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone”. Mitch Albom wrote a book recently, “For One More Day” and if I could have a deceased one back with me for one day (the idea of the book), it would be to cherish very consiously a simple day together – the “ordinary”.

  • http://www.happiness-project.com Gretchen Rubin

    I COMPLETELY agree. To remember to appreciate the “dear ordinary” is one of my chief goals for this whole year. It’s so hard not to get caught up in minor complaints, but so important. I remember in one of the cancer memoirs I read in August, the month of Memento Mori, a woman wrote about how the day before she went to the doctor, she’d been complaining about having to change a poopy diaper. The next day, she said, “How happy I would be now to change that poopy diaper, the way I did yesterday.” Have you read GILEAD? It is an extraordinarily good book. You’d love it.

  • http://mysearchformeaning-money.blogspot.com/ J

    I just finished Gilead. Yes, awesome book. It held a mirror up to my life and I found my life wanting. Shallow. Lacking in any deep convictions, beliefs or passions. Too much time spent chasing money, not enough on seeking spiritual wealth. I’m trying to change that, but it’s slow going. Lastly, it made think about Mortality and the meaning of Grace.

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