Intentional Living: 1/10/10

Sunday, January 10, 2010

How Not To Waste An Ordinary Day

According to my calculations, on June 23rd of this year, (my 53rd birthday), I will have lived approximately 19,345 days. The great majority of those days I don’t remember.

There are a few, May 23, 1983 for example when we brought Big Son ASIJ home, and January 14, 2000 when Little Miss ASIJ was born and January 13, 1998 when I saw face to face the love of my life Mr. ASIJ, that I remember crystal clear! And a few others when good things and not so good things happened. But the rest, well…one day just fades into another and now most of my life is just a blur of days.

How do I not let my days just fade into each other and become a blur? For the past few days I’ve been asking myself this very question. How DO I do this?
Here’s a few things I’ve come up with:

1. Take more pictures.
Nothing brings a day to mind more clearly for me than looking at pictures. Times I’ve long forgotten spring clear as buttered biscuits in my mind when I see pictures of family reunions, friends getting together, and days of fun and laughter. Don’t forget to date the pictures!

2. Write about it.
Start a journal and write something each day. Even if its just one sentence. What was the weather like? Who did you see and talk to on this day? What happened today to make this day different from every other day? Oh, you’re not a writer? Doesn’t matter. Write about your days anyway.

3. Live in the present but don’t forget the good times.
Sometimes I just need to talk about the past to keep a good time alive or to keep alive in my heart someone precious but long since gone. Note: DON’T talk about the bad times – those days NEED to fade away! Don’t rehash how someone did you wrong…let that wrong doing die a quick death!

4. Talk to people…really LISTEN.
Sometimes people just need to talk about their days so they’ll be remembered. Never let a chance go by to let someone make their day special by telling or recalling their days. Everyone has a story, no matter how insignificant it may seem at the time. Like books, don’t judge a person by their cover. Everyone has a soul. Everyone has a purpose for being here. Everyone matters.

5. Make a memory ON PURPOSE.
You can take a day, any day, and do something extraordinary. This will make it special for everyone involved! Get excited about life. Point out that frog hopping across the road. Ohh and ahh over that beautiful butterfly. Make a big deal out of God’s blessings we see and touch everyday. Yes, some people will think you’re nuts, but they’ll remember

6. Start new rituals.
Rituals come and rituals go (in my life anyway). But they make my days so special. And of all the rituals that have come and gone, I have a tendency to remember each one with a smile! Now I’m not talking about big elaborate rituals that take time and money (but those can be fun too), I’m talking about those little things you do everyday.

There are rituals we do before bed, when we wake in the morning, when we sit down with our families for a meal ALL TOGETHER AT THE DINNER TABLE. Little Miss ASIJ LOVES doing and saying the same things over and over, sometimes like a movie script. She loves it, I love it and it makes our days special.

7. Learn something new ~ start a new hobby. Be creative.
Our creative and imaginative side helps here to make special times. When we create something new, we fill a space that was empty. We leave a mark. We create and leave behind a legacy.

8. Get off the sidewalk.
I read this blog from Chris Guillebeau of the Art of Non-Conformity the other day about life being risky. Sometimes it is – live it anyway! Don’t be stupid…be safe…but doing something you wouldn’t ordinarily do will surely make the day not so ordinary.

In reality, there are no ordinary days. All our days are miraculous blessings. Never take even one, no matter how ordinary or boring it seems, for granted.

Sometimes the road our life takes is best lived moment to moment. Be present in each moment, don’t sleepwalk you’re life away. What you do this moment affects the next moment and the next one. So really, our days are made of miraculous moments. We have no way of knowing if we’re going to be around tomorrow – make each moment special. Create a life filled with extraordinary moments.

Never waste even one day. Find something about that day worth remembering. No one else may find moments of your day very memorable, but if you do ~ that’s what matters. Even if you’re alone…dance, sing, find beauty, create beauty.

Risk.

http://asundayinjune.wordpress.com/2010/01/10/how-do-i-not-waste-this-ordinary-day/

http://intentionalone.com/now

Derek Knight