Hold Your Ordinary Close

Pretty much every morning rolls out the same. I get up around 6:00 am. I plop down at the computer in my pajamas and read email. I sometimes respond to email. Then I scour every blog I love for any updates. And then I look some more. Bam. That's it. Sometimes I get all crazy and eat a protein bar.

I used to be productive in the morning. Well, let's rephrase. I used to be productive all day long. Now? Eh. I'm on the back side of 40. I just can't find it in me to care. That's just the truth of it.

This morning is ordinary. And yet not. Because I feel an epiphany pulling at my brain. Just there, on the edges. It's telling me something important. So I'm rolling it around and trying to gather words for it.

Here's what I've got: The computer is a dangerous thing. Awesome, but dangerous. Not the machine itself, but the online life we all live. The blogs we read, the pictures we post to Instagram, the Facebook friends we have. It's a bit of a vortex, really. A kind of false lie. One that I whole-heartedly latch on to daily.

I read fancy blogs. With real writers. Who take gorgeous, professional looking pictures. And they have sponsors, and their name is known. So I find myself holding envy and longing and a whole ton of wishing. And guess what? I'll do it all again tomorrow, starting at 6:00 am.

I'm a huge fan of the internet. I could write lyrical poetry about Pinterest. I am not one of those people who believe in portion control. But I am this-- A believer in being just as you are. That right here, right now, with your sloppy life, you are good enough. You are just simply enough.

In all the ways that really matter. You are THE good. No fancy pictures. No picture perfect kids. No crafty skills. You. Are. Enough. In your own ordinary, plain, Tuesday way. You, me. This is the real deal. And it's perfect. Even when it's not.

I think we should take our goodness and hold it in our hands. Tight. And when we look around online and in real life, we remember our own truth. And when we find ourselves wishing and longing and comparing, we take our goodness and bring it close. Just so we don't forget who we are in the process. Squeeze it tight and don't let it go.

Ordinary is the new extraordinary.
Let's be that.
Together.