Ordinary Time

On the liturgical calendar, the time between the Christmas season and the Lenten season is referred to as Ordinary Time. It's a period when there are no special periods of celebration or commemoration. It could be looked upon as a time between feasting and fasting, a time to catch our breath.

Yet all time is holy, all time is extra-ordinary. Each day is amazing if we have eyes to see and ears to hear. The poet Mary Oliver has a recipe for life: "Pay attention. Be amazed. Tell about it." Much of her poetry is about nature and animals that she has taken time to observe. How often we walk through our days in a haze, missing the beauty that surrounds us, passing by people without seeing them.

I have a painting of pears in a bowl on a table hanging above my computer. but I do not notice it unless someone admires it or I look up deliberately. Then I see the delicate shading, the stems with varicolored leaves, the folds of the white tablecloth reflecting the color of the pears. This is an ordinary painting, not a masterpiece, yet it is amazing.

How much more dazzling is Monet's water lilies, Handel's "Messiah," Gregorian chant, or the "Swan Lake" ballet. Or even simple things like a baby's first step, a well-honed speech, a Special Olympics feat, or a marching band. Beauty surrounds us if we are aware.

Time becomes more precious, more extraordinary, as we grow older. When we realize this may be the last time we see this lake, this mountain, this field, this person, we begin to take extra notice. But of course we are not always conscious of how fleeting time is. We take too much of our world for granted and think it will always be there.

So awaken to ordinary time and don't let it slip away without being amazed. Then don't keep it a secret. Tell others about the wonders you see and hear!