Noticing “ordinary” things
Have you had the feeling that your life isn’t at all what it’s supposed to be? That you’re waiting for some life turning event to change it? Or some highly belieavable guide, who knows you and your life situation, to point you along the path you’re really supposed to be walking?
Well, I myself get that a lot. I haven’t resolved if there really is a path that I’m supposed to be walking, but of which I’m currently unhappily un-aware of, or if it’s just my fantasies trying to pull me away from a grey and bleak reality.
Whichever it is, I’ve tried to start a new habit, and that is to notice things going on around me and try to find the extraordinary in the ordinary. This going along the trail of thoughs that starts with the following words:
There Are No Ordinary Moments
I usually try to remember this as TANOM.
Here are some “ordinary” things I’ve observed today:
- A dog that sounded like a duck
- 12 pieces of sushi
- A lady walking by and the cord to her vacuum cleaner came undone and trailed after her
- The first rays of sunlight hitting the top of a tree
- The sound of leafs as my bicycle tires ran over them
- A tree with a leaf skirt
- A friend with her bicycle lock missing
- A man with a table on wheels came unexpectedly whirling from behind a corner
Have you noticed something “ordinary” today?
Jenny J wrote,
I love the sound of leaves being crushed!
It’s one of the best things in the world and one of the reasons fall is great! 
Today I noticed that birches keep there leaves longer than aspens, that Lena had her favorite shirt again and that it’s a lot brighter at 7 than at 6 in the morning.
October 25th 2007 at 11:08 (11:08 am) — Using
Firefox 2.0.0.8 on 
Windows Server 2003
JenEriC wrote,
This morning there was a dense fog, at least out here in Ryd. All sounds were dampered. It gave the world quite a outworldly touch.
October 26th 2007 at 00:17 (12:17 am) — Using
Firefox 2.0.0.8 on 
Windows XP
Mika Perälä wrote,
Jenny: Haha, I agree! It’s one of the best sounds
I love to walk on them, and they make that crisp cracking sound. Mmm.
JenEriC: Ayeh, it was eerie indeed! I couldn’t see the church from my window, and it’s very easy to see otherwise.
October 26th 2007 at 09:03 (9:03 am) — Using
Firefox 2.0.0.8 on 
Windows XP
Bengt wrote,
Jag förstår vad du menar. Livet känns många gånger som att man famlar i mörkret. Känns som man borde officiellt klassas som blind så att man åtminstone kan få en pinne att famla i mörkret med, för att inte tala om en ledhund! Ibland har jag känt att jag borde uppfinna en tidsmaskin bara för att bli min egen ledhund, men tänka sig att jag aldrig funnit tid..
October 28th 2007 at 21:22 (9:22 pm) — Using
Firefox 2.0 on 
Linux
Mhwc wrote,
We all live in the shadows of our programmed illusion; we do the same things every day and our brains saves processing power by replacing what is with what has been in our perception.
Breaking out of this, by actually looking and seeing, as opposed to just looking, will add new stimuli to your life. At the same time, life will be more tiring.
November 3rd 2007 at 10:57 (10:57 am) — Using
Firefox 2.0.0.4 on 
Linux
Maria wrote,
I’ve been inexplicably happy all day, which has brought me more than my usual lot of smiles from visitors at work. This is a bit strange, since I don’t have any good reason to be happy - it’s monday, my breakfast toast was mushy and the coffee machine at work died (luckily after my break though).
Maybe it’s because it’s training day. Yes, that’s probably it.
November 5th 2007 at 17:20 (5:20 pm) — Using
Internet Explorer 7.0 on 
Windows XP