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Daily reflections for Lenten Easter, written by Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI.

Something inside us despises the ordinary. Something tells us that ordinary life, with its predictable routines, domestic rhythms, and conscription to duty, makes for cheap meaning. Inside us, there’s the sense that the ordinary can weigh us down and keep us from entering the more rewarding waters of passion, romance, and creativity.

I remember a student of mine who shared in class that her greatest fear in life was to succumb to the ordinary, to end up a content little housewife and mother, happily doing laundry commercials.

Life, Jesus assures us, is not meant to be lived in black and white. Nor is it meant simply to be an endless cycle of rising, showering, going off to work, coming home, having supper, preparing for the next day, and then going back to bed. And yet, there is much, much to be said for that seemingly small routine.

The rhythm of the ordinary is, in the end, the deepest wellspring from which to draw joy and meaning.
Sometimes the mentor that teaches this is illness. When we regain our health and energy after having been ill and out of our normal routines, nothing is as sweet as returning to the ordinary.

Our work, our routine, the normal stuff of everyday life.

Only after it’s been taken away and then given back do we realize that the clean, simple appreciation of daily things is the ultimate treasure.

There’s a lot to be said for being a contented little person anchored in the rhythms of the ordinary.