The Magic of the Mundane

Mundane. Dull. Boring. Ordinary. Not words usually coupled with the sparkle and flash of magic. Yet I am convinced that it is the average, the conventional, the humdrum moments that lend the most to life. It is the regular that can give birth to the incredible, and the normal that can lead to the exceptional.

Yesterday I stood on the cold tile floor in the kitchen, rapping my fingertips against the counter as I waited for my bread to toast. It was an average Tuesday. The house was quiet and as soon as I finished my lunch I would be leaving. My gaze flitted across the crumbs and utensils scattered across the counter-top as an imaginary conversation between fictional characters played itself out in my head. As I mechanically moved through the process of making my sandwich - slicing the cheese that precise width I love so much, slathering mayonnaise across the crispy bread - an idea tumbled into my mind. The very idea I had been waiting on to kick-start a short story that has been lurking on the dusty upper bookshelves of my brain. I immediately knew I had stumbled on a gold mine. I just hope the editors I submit it to think so as well.

It was a banal, everyday process that led me to this clever idea, and the more I write, the more value I find in similar moments. I find inspiration in the little things. Yesterday it was sandwiches and imaginary conversations. Today it was tennis shoes. What will it be tomorrow, I wonder?

Don’t get me wrong – as someone with a vivid imagination, I love the grandiose, the magnificent, and the incredible. I find great delight in reading tales of fantastical adventures in far-off worlds. In truth, I have always found every day, ordinary life to be a boring undertaking. I find it hard to involve myself with my daily dealings when I would rather be in exciting, new places, seeing and experiencing wonders never before discovered. Yet I am beginning to realize that the ordinary moments have a function and a purpose. When I open my eyes, my heart, and my mind to the things around me, they become so much more than mundane, so much more than ordinary. They become catalysts for the truly extraordinary.