The dance between mundane and spirit

Posted on 30. Jul, 2010 by Susan Wright in Life Coaching

It’s been one of those days, lacking lustre to summon up any inspiring thought, emotion, or zeal. So my eyes wander around my environment and I stumble upon every item that needs cleaning, sorting, or basically is one of those things I’d rather not do – laundry, dishes…the mundane chores of life.  Yet, it is often between the mundane that I gain a sense of rhythm and out of that comes a creative spark or simply a new choice of being with myself and my day.

Quite simply, the act of doing something mundane puts us in action. Yes, maybe it’s not profoundly meaningful and contributing to our greater good, but at least it’s a place to start. For those of you sitting on some big ideas or dreams, just the act of moving and getting on with a simple task, however mindless and less creative, can potentially shift our mood or open us up to something a little more inspiring.

Parts of our work day can feel like “doing laundry” – necessary, easy, and efficient. Whereas, I would aim that a certain percentage of the day feels energizing, inspiring, and creative. That could take on all sorts of possibilities but I can almost for certain say that those percentages are magnified by connecting with people, sharing ideas, and generating outcomes. Granted some of those people may magnify the challenges but at least there is enough of an exchange where something is discovered, understood, or revealed.

“Creativity is piercing the mundane to find the marvelous.” – Bill Moyers

Last night I read something and it resonated with a conversation I had while coaching a client earlier in the day. Today I was able to share that with him and although it may be perceived differently by him, I simply felt better in the act of passing it along. After that I went back to another mundane chore but somehow I moved more rapidly into my next creative task – writing this piece. Early in the day I thought, “What will I write about?” Deep down knowing it will emerge as it should.

The dance between the mundane and spirit, is a dance we all do. To hold ourselves out to every exciting, thrilling, mind-busting, brilliant plan is exhausting and not very practical. Yes, practical – I said it.  It’s that dance between balancing the books and investing in a risky idea. It’s the timing of the dance, the connection of two moving bodies, the expansion of thought and expression, and the contrasting contraction that allows us to move sustainably though life and work.

“What can we do but keep on breathing in and out, modest and willing, and in our places?”  ~Mary Oliver

Tags: choice, creativity, Inspiration, life & business, moving