embrace the ordinary

Taken by Michael, March 29

We all think we're going to grow up and do something amazing, breathtaking - become a movie star or discover the cure for cancer. And then life gets filled with a regular kind of job, shopping at the mall, having kids, just like everybody else. After a series of crises where my parents nearly died, I began to realize that most of us just really want to be ordinary. No crises, no wars, no searching for food to eat, just a life in which the usual ordinary things happen. As for something amazing? I only have to look as far as teaching. I decided that as a teacher, the way I can make a difference is one child at a time, and what better place to start?

Some words from a woman named Marilyn Thomsen, about the courage in the ordinary:

And while it takes courage to achieve greatness, it takes more courage to find fulfillment in being ordinary. For the joys that last have little relationship to achievement, to standing one step higher on the victory platform. What is the adventure in being ordinary? It is daring to love just for the pleasure of giving it away. It is venturing to give new life and to nurture it to maturity. It is working hard for the pure joy of being tired at the end of the day. It is caring and sharing and giving and loving…

Marilyn Thomsen