This is the task you have chosen. To live the magical in the world of the mundane.

You know in your hearts that you are unwilling to succumb to the mundane. You know in your hearts that you have chosen this challenge because you needed to restore your faith in yourselves, and in the never ending creative process from which you spring. For you could not, through your rational mind, endeavor to accomplish any of the things which you hold important – you could not write, you could not sing, you could not paint, and you certainly could not create your reality.

~ Conscious Creation

Hello Dear Ones!

Have you ever watched an 87 year old man slide a light bulb into one of his socks till it fills out the tip of the sock where his toes would nestle and where a gaping hole can be seen? With wool thread – not necessarily the same colour as his sock – a sewing needle and the light bulb as the base for his endeavours, he proceeds to weave back and forth. His patient and persistent process results in a neat, fully functional and hardly visible patch of ‘cloth’ occupying the vacant space where once a toenail had pierced through. He has just extended the life of his sock.

Observing this process, you experience a sense of calm – both within the man as he works diligently, and within yourself as the observer. Similar mundane processes can be seen in many day-to-day activities: a woman spends several hours ironing and neatly hanging and folding clothes; a construction worker methodically ties the laces on his work books; a small child with two Dinky cars and a patch of floor keeps him/herself amused for more than an hour.

It is more likely that you can see the magical potential in the child’s behaviour than in the other options described above. After all, we tell ourselves, children have amazing imaginations! What about adults? Do we have fabulous imaginations as well? Do you?

When that older gentleman (my father, by the way) performs this mundane ritual he learned in the navy back more than 60 years ago, what goes through his mind? My father once told me he thinks only of doing a perfect job with the tools in hand. Because the process was always done when there was no limited time frame – in other words, during his spare time – he was not obligated to finish the work quickly. There was no pressure to do a sloppy job simply so that he could get back on duty. After all, he was worth the effort to do it right the first time and to do it well! Did he think of anything else during that time? “No” was the response, “and yet I always feel peaceful while I’m doing it.”

The construction worker doing up his boot laces (my husband), focuses totally on doing what he is doing. There is no thought process – the mind is not involved. “It is actually meditative” was his response to my query.

The child is totally in his/her own magical world. Nothing, to a child, is mundane or drudgery. Nothing is boring if it is of their choice to do and their freedom to conceive of and live out the joy of their thoughts. It is only when we put restrictions or enforcements on them that the ‘boredom’ sets in. “I’m bored!” How often do we hear that today? Sadly, one who is bored is unhappy with the company they are keeping and usually that company is themselves – themselves without their creative juices intact.

Adults are often like that as well. Not being in touch with their own inner beings, less likely to be connected to their creative and spiritual selves, adults seek out more and more stimulation from outside sources. Once one stimulant – activity or addiction of one sort or another – comes to an end, the individual looks for yet another. Nothing forthcoming? Then they too find themselves ‘bored’!

The other day Mike and I were downtown enjoying the city and all its weekend energy. We heard, before we saw, the busker – a violinist. Bless him, he was just learning how to play the instrument and he was using the street as his practice location and us, non-consistent passersby, as his audience. He couldn’t have been more than 14 – maybe not that old. Practicing the violin was obviously not a boring exercise for him. I watched his eyes close as he put bow to string. He had a dreamy look about his mouth and the softness of his facial features. Whether or not he was any good at what he was doing was not the point for him. He was loving the creative process – connecting himself to the instrument, the pieces he was practicing and to some musical muse within or about him. The notes that at first had assaulted my ears, now sounded sweet. I smiled and put change in his violin case. Seems I wasn’t the only one to have sensed the same wonder – the bottom of his case was filled with coin!

When does the mundane become a drudgery? From these examples and from my own experience, I’d have to say when any or all of the following come into play:

• one is pressed for time
• the inner being is is not understood or acknowledged
• there is no personal passion or identification with the activity
• one is feeling obligated to complete the task

Here are some of the tricks that help me when the mundane (such as washing the same dishes every single day – day in and day out) threatens to bore me:

• appreciate that I have dishes upon which to serve my food, pots to cook it in, utensils with which to eat the meals and wonderful, plentiful foods to nourish my body
• enjoy the warmth of the water on my hands
• give thanks for the easy flow of water from the taps I’m blessed to have in my home
• watch the cedar trees visible outside the kitchen window, how they undulate and wave with the wind
• be aware of the birds that come to feed on the suet and peanut butter that we provide them daily
• remain open to inspirations that tend to come to me – this is often one of my highest creative periods of the day
• have a tea towel handy to dry my hands to record the poetry that frequently arises and screams to be written!
• use this time to activate your imagination – envision the dreams you hold close to your heart – really FEEL them! Sense the dream as though it were in 3D within you – the sights, smells, tastes, and touches of beauty and wonder! And oh, how this makes you feel!
• smile

If you’ve read much of my work here through these blog posts, you’ll already know that a smile is one of my prime tools for altering what I don’t want in order to easily and happily convert it to a higher more vibrant energy – one that pleases me. The body converts negativity to positivity when smile muscles are activated – even if you have to force them to move. Be lazy! It takes fewer muscles to smile than it does to frown. Put the smile muscles into action and the appropriate emotion will soon follow. Trust me – it really does change your energy flow!

That’s it for today. May your week be filled with the most amazing experiences.  May you find the magical in all of your endeavours!!!!

I’d like to close with one of my favourite quotes:

“In order to live completely free and happy, one must sacrifice boredom. It is not always an easy sacrifice.” ~ Richard Bach from his book Illusions

In Light and Laughter,

Marcia