I think that what I discovered in the monastery about the essence of what we call the 'ordinary' is that I see in everyday life for each and every one of us, a power which makes a difference to our world: for good or for ill.
I find myself kind of appalled by the whole issue of 'celebrity' because it seems to me to be a way of avoiding the ordinary and therefore, ending up being unhappy with our own lives. I feel most sadness for the many young men and women who feel as if they have no identity worth anything unless they can look or dress like a celebrity. It seems such an awful rejection of ones own beauty of being.
But maybe we aren't good at valuing one another? and letting others know how beautiful they are? (in the deepest sense, I mean).
When you look at most celebrities in reality, they tend to be people whose lives are valued because of how they look or how they make their living and not much because they are good or honorable people. I guess it is the superficiality of it all that troubles me.
So, why do I think the ordinary is better? In large part it is because that is where most of us live most of the time and therefore, that is where we are going to find ourselves; our identity and the meaning of our lives. It is in fact, in my opinion, the most profound place that any of us can be if only we keep our eyes on what and who meet each day. That for me, is a real road to transformation. I'm working on it!
A question: do you ever think about what gives your life meaning?
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