A Statement
I talk a lot about how I look forward to the days in my elusive future when I hope to be jumping from cliffs in Tanzania or swimming with dolphins in the Indian Ocean off the coast of a crazy beautiful country. And yes, I can't wait. But like I have said before, until then, this is our life. The everyday. And even though our days may seem mundane and repetitive, there is beauty in these days, these days when the sunlight paints the world gold outside our window, or the wind plays a tune through the trees. Magic can happen in the smallest moments, if you stop to listen, to watch, and to soak it all in. To soak life in.
Maybe Harry not Larry
We're not all out here living to the extremes. We're not all living like Larry on any random Tuesday. And that is A-OK. My days, for instance, consist of a Greek yogurt with granola every morning, a bus ride to school which I can only hope is not completely packed so I don't have to be left on the curb because I couldn't fit behind that darn yellow line, and sometimes a lunch on the plaza with some friends. Nothing extraordinary. Extra-ordinary, actually. But even so, there is always something to be said for each of these moments; when the yogurt-to-granola ratio is spot on, when you find an old class friend on the bus, or when the sun streaming through the trees in the plaza hits your face and warms you right up.
There is magic in the little things if you pay attention to them. Sometimes when I'm missing home, I remember the most normal of times. I remember the time when I sat and told my family about the conspiracies I thought up while I was supposed to be studying for an exam, or the time over the summer when my parents, sister, and I laid out on the pool deck in the black of the night to watch for shooting stars. That doesn't sound exactly exhilarating, but it was a memory that I cherish and will never forget. I saw my first shooting star that night. I thought it was a lightning bug at first, but then I saw a few more lazily fly by, looking way closer than I thought something miles above would appear. I really felt the magic at that moment more than others, the beauty of life. Of every day.
Every day is every day
The good news is this; tomorrow is a new day. Every single tomorrow brings a newness that is refreshing. It is our choice what to do with our days, and it is OK to not jump off of a cliff every day to prove to ourselves that we're out here living. Maybe every once in a while, but mostly, it's grocery shopping and finding the best BOGO Publix ever did have. It's going thrift shopping and finding a cozy new shirt that looks like it received just the right amount of love in its last life. It's drinking a glass of water that is the perfect temperature; not too cold and not too lukewarm. Perfect. It's living every day as if it is just that; a new every day.
