It’s ok to be completely ordinary

Just for today, I fully embrace and abide in being completely ordinary.

As I moved through my kitchen this morning, just making tea and toast, I was hit with the extraordinariness of doing the most ordinary and mundane task. And somehow, something softened, opened up, and I laughed a little when the beauty of it came through to me.

It made me think of the Gathas, the little poems written by Thich Nhat Hanh to help us be more mindful while doing ordinary chores:

There is one for cleaning the bathroom: "How wonderful it is to scrub and clean. Day by day, the heart and mind grow cleaner."

And brushing your teeth: "Brushing my teeth and rinsing my mouth, I vow to speak purely and lovingly... "

I was also reminded of the Reiki ideals we learn in our Reiki trainings: "Just for today, I will let go of worry."

In the practice and teachings of yoga, spirituality, and mindfulness, there can be a constant seeking and longing for something greater. It is a sense that what is happening now is not enough, and I must achieve something more.

I mean, what is the point of seeking "enlightenment" or "awakening" if one isn't imagining something great and grand?

A teacher of mine, Lama Willa of Natural Dharma Fellowship, recently dubbed this spiritual seeking the suffering of "subtle not enoughness." She said it is one of the most insidious forms of suffering because it is disguised as self-improvement, which feels like it should be a good thing. But it ends up making us feel like we can never arrive, that we can never be at home.

When I first heard her talk on this, I thought to myself, "Oh, I know that feeling very well." It's the sense that I could be doing more, I could be achieving more. It is the wish or sensibility that, somehow, if I had something a little different from what I have right now, everything would be so much better.

Maybe I would finally arrive: at what, I can't say for sure. But I know it must be over there, somewhere, and not right here.

How do I remember that this moment, right now, is sufficient?

When we realize we hold this "subtle not-enoughness," it doesn't mean we sit in utter complacency, bypassing improvements that would relieve suffering. It is ok to say, "Hey, the world is pretty messed up, and I can definitely imagine something better and actually try to do something about it."

The problem is our attachment to the underlying feeling that we are never enough and to the constant seeking that feeling provokes.

Until we remember that the search, the seeking for whatever might improve us, is really just taking us back home to ourselves, we will never find true contentment. As Ram Dass so often reminded us, we are all walking each other home.

The search takes us back home to ourselves. Living from home is letting go of the effort, attachment, and need to control.

We can wake up, do the mundane tasks, and find all we need in simply brushing our teeth, cleaning the bathroom, making toast, and tea. Sure, we might do other things too, but the simple tasks can be just as enlightening if we are open to the possibility.

Because being absolutely ordinary is the whole reason we are here together.

"Just for today, I fully embrace and abide in being completely ordinary." I love the phrase "Just for today..." It is part of the Reiki ideals we learn in Reiki training. One might consider Reiki another practice that evokes a kind of magical thinking and a subtle not-enoughness. But that is not how I approach or teach Reiki. To me, Reiki is simply a way of being in a symbiotic relationship with the world. I don't pretend Reiki will magically make all my health or personal problems go away. But it gives me a little more peace of mind; no matter what comes my way, I do not need to live in fear. Just for today, I will let go of worry.

I only need to remember that just for today, this one moment is enough.

​Reiki Ideals

Just for today, I will let go of anger.

Just for today, I will let go of worry.

Just for today, I will give thanks for my many blessings.

Just for today, I will do my work with honesty.

Just for today, I will be kind to every living thing.