pink couch

As I set up my calendar for the month, I select a quote I’ve found that speaks to me. I write it in my planner and leave space below it to capture phrases I hear or read that speak to me and relate to the quote. I found this practice centers me throughout the month, and helps me be more present in my conversations, meetings, and readings. For September 2024, the quote that centered me was “affirm the sacredness of mundane things.”  

I find it a bit hard to affirm the mundane when it’s your birthday month – a time for celebration with loved ones of who know the nooks and crannies of who I am and how I got to be the current version of myself. But upon reflection, I realized birthdays really are the celebration of the mundane. All the average, simple thoughts and decisions got me to this point. The mundane supported me during the eventful moments and big decisions. It’s the mundane that built the strong foundation from which I could jump to greater things or rest and recover safely.

Here are quotes, lyrics, and phrases that that caught my attention during the month…

  • Is the space sacred because God is there or because we are there seeking God?
  • She who believes in hope can accomplish miracles
  • Aging is not lost youth, but a new stage of opportunity and strength
  • Power is the ability to pursue purpose
  • A leadership laboratory
  • Listening is so close to love most people can’t tell the difference
  • I come into the peace of wild things
  • You are everything that is
  • In courage one sees the brilliant triumph of the soul over the flesh
  • Pay close attention to the adventures before you
  • All your experiences are soaked in magic
  • Never take for granted all that radiates in you – you were born to blaze
  • Emancipate the imagination
  • We are the photosynthesis of grace and wonder
  • When life becomes deliberate pitter-patter of wonderment
  • It’s the reminder to live now; to be bold; to be electric
  • The border that exists between temporary dust and everlasting spirit
  • You were formed out of an ancient whisper to become a natural wonder
  • Radical hospitality
  • Strengthen what remains 
  • Be the walking piece of rainbow shag carpet

My birthday sat differently this year. In past years I filled it with activities and my favorite people – a gift to myself to be with those who fill my heart with joy. This year more solitude felt right. I slowed down, settled into each moment, and just was. I replaced the doing of my birth with presence in the day… absorbing.

I took in the mundane and seemed to find more magic in each moment. The soft breeze that stirred the leaves, as if to awaken them to their color change. The balm of a hug extended for just a few seconds longer. The connection that occurs when you cook with a loved one – nourishment for the heart. How much better life feels when you share concerns, normally activated by late-night gremlins, with a friend in the daytime. That sitting around an open fire converts strangers to friends. The realization that deep laughter generates pixie dust that infects those around you in the best way. The soothing sway to a favorite song that culminates in an all-out kitchen dance at lunch time. That knowing you have disco ball shoes on that sparkle in the sun makes you walk with more effervescence. The nightly “I love you” text ritual with mom that settles me for sleep.

This year, stillness – presence – was my greatest gift. Rather than an electrifying month of events, I felt time slow down. I got to see, sense, and soak up so much more from each moment.

I was more alive … and isn’t that what our birthday is really all about?

October 2024 Quote: “Affirm the Sacredness of Mundane Things”

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One thought on “October 2024 Quote: “Affirm the Sacredness of Mundane Things”

  1. Emily –

    Absolutely beautiful! Highly Inspiring in the most mundane of ways. You bring all your readers to life with words of wisdom.
    Thank You!

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