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THE HOLY ORDINARY
What we define as “ordinary” can be thought of as
“extraordinary” and paradoxically, what we define
as “extraordinary” can be very “ordinary.”
What is this paradox? Who lives this paradox? Why even entertain
this paradox?
We’ve all heard the saying: “Things are not what
they seem.” My response to that is: “To whom are things
not as they seem?” It’s all one’s perspective.
It’s all one’s experience. It’s all whatever
state the body, emotion, mind and spirit are in and especially
the evolutionary state of the soul. Just the term “holy
ordinary” seems to be a paradox. But is it?
Our thoughts about what is holy and what is ordinary are influenced
by our exposure to first and foremost the philosophies of those
who raised us; the people who taught us “how to be”
and named and defined for us the multi-faceted ways of being and
living life. Think about this! There are over 6 billion of us
on this jewel of a planet. We were all exposed to a” way
of being” from our first breath. We all have the DNA from
the two people who created us and who carried within them the
DNA and “ways of being” from two other people and
this goes on and on. Is it any wonder, then, that what is “holy
and ordinary” to one person and what is “holy and
ordinary” to another is very different? Enter now, your
SELF!
If you’re reading this page, you’ve most likely lived
life long enough to understand that people define persons, place,
things and concepts differently. You have your own definitions
that may or may not differ much from those of your ancestors,
parents, relatives, friends, co-workers and what you have experienced
along the way. The most important thought and question is: What
IS “holy” and what IS “ordinary” and are
they both one and the same? There are books written with that
title, there are courses given on college campuses that talk about
it. Some writings are clearly religious. But what does it mean
to you?
The concept “The Holy Ordinary” was triggered for
me one day by way of mopping my very “ordinary” floor.
One day while on my hands and knees, with a bucket of hot, soapy
water and an old rag….I began to wash the floor and I began
to notice the boards…how old they were! How worn…I
noticed the knots and the design….It brought me to the trees
from which the boards came. Who KNEW that the tree even WAS; that
it had weathered storms, sunny days, wind gusts, humidity? WHERE
did the TREE live? It was a maple. That I knew. Was it tapped
for syrup; “ordinary” maple syrup in the spring? Did
“ordinary” lovers embrace beneath its boughs or lean
against its sturdy trunk? Did anyone take in the beauty of its
“ordinary” leaves in autumn? Was its “ordinary”
life cut short to make this “ordinary” floor? Then
my mind went back to the mopping -.an “ordinary” task
- but my “ordinary” hand movements had changed. I
was no longer scrubbing, my floor. I was BATHING my very “ordinary”
floor! And it was a HOLY MOMENT. An “AHA” moment!
A DEFINING moment. Everything had a possible connection to “holiness”!
One Category of “Holy Ordinary”
I then began to think of the “holy ordinary” in categories….no
matter what I did…..each awareness, each thought, each action,
each object had me become aware of the beauty, the essential usefulness,
and the CONSCIOUSNESS OF each object. It was over-whelming; ONLY
to then become aware of the dullness with which most of the world
goes through life. And I became very sensitive to ALL that we
take for granted; for ALL that we are not aware of. I began to
think about this in categories.
Let’s look at the category of SPEECH for instance. How
is “ordinary speech” Holy? Many of you are familiar
with and have read of Masaru Emoto, Doctor of Alternative Medicine,
who conducted an amazing experiment with water crystals. Dr. Emoto
took water samples from pristine springs as well as from terribly
polluted rivers and streams. From the samples, he flash-froze
a droplet of water and observed its crystalline structure under
a microscope. He then separated the water into various vials,
separating the clean water from the polluted water. Next, he labeled
each vial with a particular word, placing positive words on the
polluted water and more negative words on the pristine water.
He allowed the vials to be exposed to the labels for a designated
length of time after which he retrieved a droplet of water from
each vial again, viewed it under the microscope and lo and behold…the
crystalline structures had been altered. The polluted droplets
that had been exposed to positive words became beautiful structures
and visa versa, the pristine droplets that had been exposed to
negative words became distorted. “Ordinary words”
can make SUCH a difference in our lives.
Think about it…The molecules of water were totally affected
by the energy, both positive and negative of the words they’re
exposed to.
How much of OUR bodies are made up of water? Babies have the
most, being born at about 78%. By one year of age, that amount
drops to about 65%. In adult men, about 60% of their bodies are
water and in adult women 55%. It is also known that the higher
the body fat content, the less water one has. All that being said,
we are comprised mostly of water. So this begs the question: If
water crystals were affected by the mere ENERGY of the words with
which they were labeled, why then, would WE not be affected by
what we hear and say? And more importantly, what is the INTENTION
behind our words?
Back to the “Holy Ordinary”
WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH THE “HOLY ORDINARY”?
EVERYTHING! What we say and think and how we say it affects our
physical emotional, mental and spiritual bodies. What is our response
when someone says ANY word to us? For example: “I HAVE AN
AWFUL VOICE?” What can that turn into? Why do you believe
it? What is a “good voice” to you? How does that statement
affect your own personal vocal cords? Throat? Neck? Tonsils? larynx?
Never mind the very breath of your life! Your Confidence! Your
ability to EXPRESS yourself! Those vibrations have gone into your
body. Repeat them over and over either through thought or the
spoken word. You’re setting yourself up for some serious
CRYSTALLIZATION of the molecules in that area of your body, mind,
emotion or spirit. What if someone else says it TO you or you
hear negative affirmations over and over? You are certainly still
affected.
Since we are talking about the CATEGORY of SPEECH, the “HOLY
ORDINARY” is this: WE TAKE OUR LANGUAGE AND OUR THOUGHTS
AND OUR SPEECH PATTERNS FOR GRANTED! We don’t think about
the affects of our words – and then - The sore throat….laryngitis…stiff
necks…swollen glands begin, and we WISH we had our voice
back. We then appreciate what it is to FEEL GOOD and what we took
for granted - our voice, throat, larynx, - what we don’t
even THINK about, all of a sudden becomes our focus. WHAT WAS
ORDINARY TO US, WE REALIZE AS EXTRAORDINARY….AND NOW…..with
this information….we can treat it as holy….FOR THE
WORD serves a purpose….for good or ill….
I could write on and on about the “holy ordinary”
in so many different categories, but suffice it to say that I
think you get the idea. We have the opportunity to look at every
single moment of our day as ”holy”. Each “ordinary
moment” carries within it the opportunity to bring us closer
to Divine Source – IF we but change our perception of what
is “ordinary”! May the following quotations from people
who lived long ago bring you to a new awareness of how special
you are and how blessed you are to be surrounded by the “ordinary”!
The sky is the daily bread of the eyes. - Emerson
Good words are like a string of pearls. - Chinese
Proverb
Take care that the divinity within you has a
creditable charge to preside over. - Marcus Aurelius
The best part of beauty is that which no picture
can express. - Bacon
Everything has its beauty, but not everyone
sees it. - Confuscious
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen.
- Gray
God often visits us, but most of the time we
are not at home. - French Proverb
Flowers are God’s thoughts of beauty taking
form to gladden mortal gaze. - Anonymous
Nothing in life is “ordinary” and
all that serves a benevolent purpose is “Holy”! -
Anonymous
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