tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post823153829446820117..comments2023-12-27T22:26:20.552-05:00Comments on synch-ro-ni-zing: ordinary? or extraordinary?Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comBlogger60125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-44922153295829560732010-05-18T06:58:19.895-04:002010-05-18T06:58:19.895-04:00Dutchbaby, thank you for the exclamation point! Th...<b>Dutchbaby</b>, thank you for the exclamation point! There is a recognition in the indoors of the self that we are touching the extraordinary via something seemingly ordinary. When that happens, there is BIG JOY!Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-22051602919071542302010-05-18T06:56:14.992-04:002010-05-18T06:56:14.992-04:00Montag, yes, we have to slow this fast train down....<b>Montag</b>, yes, we have to slow this fast train down.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-27751427143830483142010-05-16T12:44:58.508-04:002010-05-16T12:44:58.508-04:00I am blessed to be part of a book club that enjoys...I am blessed to be part of a book club that enjoys celebrating the ordinary. One of us famously said a few years back, "Ladies, it doesn't get better than this!" (I'm sorry, Ruth, but I firmly believe that declaration fully deserves an exclamation point.) I can't tell you how often we've toasted each other with this sentiment and how it warms my heart each time we do. <br /><br />Thank you for this extraordinarily ordinary post, Ruth. It doesn't get better than this!Dutchbabyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00844296297519447526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-23231712594807658352010-05-14T07:18:31.339-04:002010-05-14T07:18:31.339-04:00It's a gift to be ordinary.. and simple and fr...It's a gift to be ordinary.. and simple and free... as the song goes, and its music has more truth than any learned person can nowadays devise.Montaghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00017648070522030951noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-78596292837061048282010-05-11T06:37:15.624-04:002010-05-11T06:37:15.624-04:00Gemma, I know you do. And you even create immense ...<b>Gemma</b>, I know you do. And you even create immense beauty out of the pain in your heart. Ahh, I'm so grateful.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-60277351575999031532010-05-10T20:33:24.993-04:002010-05-10T20:33:24.993-04:00I look for and find the sacred in the ordinary.I look for and find the sacred in the ordinary.gmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04879507440579599549noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-15323921117300916382010-05-10T15:29:41.297-04:002010-05-10T15:29:41.297-04:00Peter, sometimes I forget to think of it, that eve...<b>Peter</b>, sometimes I forget to think of it, that even though you live surrounded by beauty, grace, history, culture, art - some of the most astonishing in the history of the world - you also are awed by it. You document it for us, and I lose track that you, like me, are like a child, observant and grateful.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-26651972247061983392010-05-10T15:19:00.994-04:002010-05-10T15:19:00.994-04:00California Girl, thank you for them words, my frie...<b>California Girl</b>, thank you for them words, my friend.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-77416371715416386592010-05-10T15:10:10.103-04:002010-05-10T15:10:10.103-04:00Thank you, and welcome, Jennifer, I'm happy to...Thank you, and welcome, <b>Jennifer</b>, I'm happy to see you, and your LOVELY blog. It is apparent there, too, how your sensibilities lie. Smaller and less amazing means I get amazed by the lesser. And that's just wonderful.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-57073174240387843712010-05-10T02:56:59.899-04:002010-05-10T02:56:59.899-04:00Questions you may ask yourself may be like where I...Questions you may ask yourself may be like where I would like to live, in which century I would have liked to live… or would I like to live in a future century? Maybe all this is not so important as to learn to appreciate love and other essential things… but also the small pleasures like having a glass of wine or a coffee on a nice street terrace, lay down on a lawn in the middle of the night and look at the stars, listen to the right piece of music at the perfect moment and place … Such a list can be very personal, long - and it’s up to us to try to make it as long as possible! Now, I know also that it’s much easier to make such a list if you live in a surrounding like mine or yours… and far from everybody has that privilege.PeterParishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09694538476960957295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-66675856633454209622010-05-09T16:26:42.787-04:002010-05-09T16:26:42.787-04:00Happy Mother's Day to an ordinary lady who wri...Happy Mother's Day to an ordinary lady who writes an extraordinary blog.California Girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12582691517303132274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-51939314021354346002010-05-09T08:42:44.758-04:002010-05-09T08:42:44.758-04:00Great post. I seek wonderfulness in the ordinary ...Great post. I seek wonderfulness in the ordinary every day - I think it's something about living in the moment. If we're always looking beyond for something bigger and better, then we miss it. I've always thought the drive for all things "amazing" and "new" is related to the capitalist ideal. It's like it's our duty to strive for bigger, better, shiny and new and who cares about the old and comfortable?Jenniferhttp://jensrealia.typepad.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-49472248760977357222010-05-09T08:24:41.407-04:002010-05-09T08:24:41.407-04:00Oh! dear Arti! - how did I miss commenting to you?...Oh! <b>dear Arti!</b> - how did I miss commenting to you? I read your comment with great interest, and then I got out of sync when I came back. Forgive me.<br /><br />There can't be many book titles better than <i>The Elegance of the Hedgehog</i>. <br /><br />Less is more. I love restraint, in books and movies. <i>Lost in Translation</i> is one of my favorites. It's the person observing that brings meaning to it. And that person has to slow down enough to take it in. I much prefer this to being clobbered.<br /><br />I'm happy you're there, noticing the synchronicity in these things.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-35072186366790133072010-05-09T07:06:05.031-04:002010-05-09T07:06:05.031-04:00Sidney, I like that. It reminds me of Don, whose k...<b>Sidney</b>, I like that. It reminds me of Don, whose knees in his jeans were always worn out when the kids were little.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-71879008272935386842010-05-09T07:04:49.864-04:002010-05-09T07:04:49.864-04:00Boots, we completely expect change now, every day....<b>Boots</b>, we completely expect change now, every day. I find that disconcerting. I think humans need stability. The challenge is finding it among the rapidly changing things.<br /><br />I am so proud of you for riding your bike to learn dutch 4 days a week for 40+ weeks. <i>Brava</i>, my dear sweet sister, for taking this on at the spritely age of 64. :)Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-90386016064996134562010-05-09T07:02:04.626-04:002010-05-09T07:02:04.626-04:00You made me stop and think, Helena, "The nois...You made me stop and think, <b>Helena</b>, "The noise around us is just a sort of a test of how you react to it." <br /><br />Not everyone's life or accomplishments can be extraordinary, in the terms society uses. Some have to clean toilets and empty the trash. Some have to clean out septic tanks. We have a TV show here called "Dirty Jobs" - and I like how Mike shows that yucky things get done by people, thankfully, so I don't have to do them.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-33882387817840819492010-05-09T06:43:15.854-04:002010-05-09T06:43:15.854-04:00dear rauf, you've told us about the people, li...<b>dear rauf</b>, you've told us about the people, like the man in your photo posted here, who believe they will be reincarnated into a better life, so they keep suffering through this one. I don't remember how it's supposed to work, but it's a tragedy to be oppressed by someone promising a false dream. But the dream helps him survive and not go insane, I guess.<br /><br />I agree that some people do great things out of a desire to do great things. But some do them simply out of a desire to express what is in them. I think the best things that have happened have been from someone's passion that couldn't be reined in by obstacles. Passion and hard work can create extraordinary things. And of course some of the most important inventions happened by accident, on the road to discover something else altogether.<br /><br />rauf, you have touched your family, your friends all over India, and friends around the world in extraordinary ways, even though you never left India's borders. How you see the world is anything but ordinary, even though it is more in sync with the natural order of things, which <i>should</i> be <i>normal</i>.<br /><br />Thank you again for sharing one of your precious photographs.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-38522583380009878492010-05-09T06:26:41.374-04:002010-05-09T06:26:41.374-04:00Cathy, that is an excellent title for a book: Ordi...<b>Cathy</b>, that is an excellent title for a book: <i>Ordinary miracles</i>. I remember hearing in church that when Jesus turned the water into wine, the miracle lay in the fact that he did it in an instant. Water turns into wine all the time, but quite a bit more slowly. Is that less of a miracle?Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-37228293610177374182010-05-09T06:22:25.295-04:002010-05-09T06:22:25.295-04:00Susan, you are so cool. For one thing, you are out...<b>Susan</b>, you are so cool. For one thing, you are out there being snazzy in that suit and making things happen. When someone is a journalist, like you, you have to look closely at the details, and that slows you down in the right kind of way. I watched the <i>Lansing State Journal</i> photographer at commencement yesterday. He had to pay attention in ways no one else did. I wondered what he decided to take pictures of, out of the two hours and hundreds of graduates.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-35660141505933270922010-05-09T06:05:29.117-04:002010-05-09T06:05:29.117-04:00Sweet Deborah, first, thank you for taking time an...<b>Sweet Deborah</b>, first, thank you for taking time and effort to engage with this.<br /><br />Yes, Don is different and stands out - among the people he works with, among our friends, among our family. He quit a career in business after many years to become an elementary teacher. And he moved to a farm so he could find out how to live in this age-old life cycle. The thing is, this drive comes from within him. He is one of the very fortunate people who knows who he is, what he wants, and isn't afraid to be and do that. <br /><br />What you wrote about the word <i>extraordinary</i> (which I've been thinking about a lot too) is true. At some point people started using all the <i>great</i> words for everyday minute-by-minute happy things. My mom used to quote some great preacher: "Pray, what adjective have you reserved for the Almighty?!"<br /><br />You nailed it, Deborah, what I was feeling. That I am aware of how I need external stimulation, and I'd like to rely on that less. It takes constant mindfulness. <br /><br />Thank you for all your good thoughts and kind words. I value your input so very much.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-86000763979013937902010-05-09T06:04:14.426-04:002010-05-09T06:04:14.426-04:00I say, if your knees aren't green by the end o...I say, if your knees aren't green by the end of the day, you ought to seriously re-examine your life. ~Bill Watterson, Calvin & HobbesSidneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02495108366627361182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-9397270136838515912010-05-09T05:51:38.365-04:002010-05-09T05:51:38.365-04:00Dear CottageGirl, yes! Each moment is a wonder. Th...<b>Dear CottageGirl</b>, yes! Each moment is a wonder. The iris contracting alone (as I contemplate a photo shoot with a graduating senior today and am trying to work out the wonders of a camera that I don't know too well, which is like the human eye). <br /><br />You are very insightful, you know. ". . . these moments become lost in a sea of both the mundane and the outrageous." Well I might as well just repeat everything you wrote, because it's all so good.<br /><br />Maybe what is difficult is always having to <i>choose</i> among the constant stream of information, technologies, and other extraordinary things. Being mindful of what <i>I</i> need to keep my life in some kind of balance and sanity.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-3862118056550735622010-05-09T05:04:36.268-04:002010-05-09T05:04:36.268-04:00And if we feel these things now, Ruth, what will i...And if we feel these things now, Ruth, what will it be like for Nicholas 25 years from now when supposedly life will be more sci-fi? In another world where I don't know the language that surrounds me, I cry because I can't do something as ordinary as speaking it. I wonder if the urge to go back to the good ol' days comes more as we age? Do we have to live long enough before we understand how important it is to just be...ordinary? Lots of things to ponder here, I see.... :)Ginnie Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014434422568561157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-17386913361256473662010-05-09T04:04:45.349-04:002010-05-09T04:04:45.349-04:00Truth and happiness lies in simple things. Most pe...Truth and happiness lies in simple things. Most people just have to go to extremes before they realize that they already have everything. It's inside of us and in the little things we do and think every day. The noise around us is just a sort of a test of how you react to it.Helenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08983630669921518700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-44148098444510666732010-05-08T21:17:15.777-04:002010-05-08T21:17:15.777-04:00Oops, Kanmari, I meant to write he, my old boss, h...Oops, <b>Kanmari</b>, I meant to write <i>he</i>, my old boss, had a heart for the less fortunate and refused to spend much money on clothes.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.com