Making Every Day Different

We are all meant to be creators of life – our own – to the very edge of its boundaries.  But that means being willing to risk a tomorrow that is different from today.  Joan Chittister

 

“How was your vacation?” was what everyone asked last week when I got back to the office. 

“Terrific!  But I was ready to get back to my routine,” I said at one point, only to have someone counter, “I don’t think I’ve ever ended a vacation with wanting routine.”

For seven days my routine had been something different every day – ocean, mountains, desert, gardens, windmills, Disneyland, history.  Each day was full but relaxing and exciting.  My friends and I talked about how when we were younger we would have crammed in even more.  That, plus the Chittister quote got me thinking.

When we were toddlers, every day was an adventure, stretching boundaries we didn’t know existed.  School might have had its routines, but still there were differences throughout the week and by high school and college, courses changed each semester.  Careers and family life provided some settling down but we were still growing and learning.  Then, in my experience, came a fallow time, where I did not really tend my own garden of growth and somehow years passed.  I was content, and also pretty sure of, and perhaps others might have said, full of myself.  Life was good, and going along as it should.

But part of life is the opportunity to continue to grow and even change, and there are always curves in the road ahead.  My first ‘sit back and take stock’ moment was when my father died.  I made some decisions to switch my course.  Soon thereafter I heard the phrase ‘lifelong learner’ and wanted to be one of those. 

Our ways of making every day different will vary.  You may audition for a play or plan to move to a new country.  The challenge for me is to find a balance of comfort in the day-to-day – the rising, preparing, departing, working, exercising, cooking, cleaning, resting – with the enjoyment and even pain of seeking out differences.  The enjoyment currently comes from trying new kinds of art and expression.  This blog.  Taking a course on Chinese brush painting later this month.  The pain comes from headlines.  I’m still trying to figure out how I can make a difference there and would appreciate your learnings on this.

Meanwhile, remember the words of Bishop T.D. Jakes, “The world is a university and everyone in it is a teacher.  When you wake up in the morning, make sure you go to school.”

Marilyn