Oh what a beautiful view...

[I wrote this as a Facebook note once but figured I may as well repost it on here!]

"I wish we could open our eyes,
To see in all directions at the same time.
Oh what a beautiful view,
If you were never aware of what was around you"
-- Death Cab for Cutie - Marching Bands of Manhattan

Picture a typical Monday morning (or really, any weekday morning)... walking around, going to school or work. With few exceptions, everyone has a dreadfully dull look on their face. You probably do too (I know I usually do). Everyone seems to be simply... bored. And unfulfilled. But that's not how it should be. That's not how it's supposed to be. To put it simply, I think, in many respects, we've lost our excitement for life. The way the snow falls, the way the leaves change colors, a letter from a friend, the way we can affect the lives of others... these things are exciting! If we really stopped to appreciate life and the things around us, I would humbly suggest that we would be in awe. The grandeur of the world is mindblowing, but we reduce it to its simplest level. We are always thinking about the things we have to do and need to get done, and we stop focusing on simply enjoying things. Things like watching the snow fall, or seeing how our bodies adapt to freezing temperatures, or enjoying the presence of the people around us. These are things to be celebrated, not tossed aside and forgotten.

This reminds me again of a quote from GK Chesterton that I've used before, but it's so good I'll use it again. "How much larger your life would be if your self could become smaller in it; if you could really look at other men with common curiosity and pleasure; if you could see them walking as they are in their sunny selfishness and virile indifference! You would begin to be interested in them, because they were not interested in you. You would break out of this tiny and tawdry theatre in which your own little plot is always being played, and you would find yourself under a freer sky, in a street full of splendid strangers." Life isn't boring, we're just not looking hard enough. Or in the right places.

In many respects, most of us have resigned ourselves to being ordinary. Cogs in the machine. But we shouldn't be satisfied with this, we are called to be better. "So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Mt 5:48) We cease to think big, and focus more on our limitations than our abilities. We fit in with the crowd. As Marianne Williamson writes, "We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone." We see no way to break out of the day-to-day doldrums, and so at some point we simply stop trying. We become content to be an average worker, average student, average friend, average listener, average person. It's easier that way. It's less work, and we probably won't be called out for it. No one finds it easy to go the extra mile, to help out just a little longer, to be a friend even when it's not convenient... but these are the things we were made for. We must continually strive to become better than we are, to turn weaknesses into strengths. Change isn't impossible, it's just hard.

Being ordinary people (in our own minds), we begin to lose sight of our dreams! We forget we even had any in the first place. Or we keep putting them off for "someday." We forget the importance of them. Matthew Kelly writes, "Isn't one of the primary responsibilities of all relationships to help each other fulfill our dreams?" (Dream Manager) Instead, what happens is this... if someone tells us their dreams, we make a face and say "good luck," knowing it will be hard and take a lot of work, more than we ourselves would probably want to do. Plus, if we're honest with ourselves, we're probably a little jealous, because having dreams helps give us a sense of purpose, and we lose that to some degree when we lose our dreams. Think about it... if our only goal is surviving, then of course we'll get caught up in everyday things, and find them all boring and ultimately unsatisfying. When we have dreams and goals, it gives us something to look forward to. Ultimately, hopefully the end goal is heaven(!), but it's good to have some intermediate goals too. As Jack Johnson sings, "Don't let your dreams be dreams." Dream big, and work to achieve it. As Henry David Thoreau writes, "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined."

Ultimately, we should seek to change the world! Lofty goal, right? It sure seems daunting, upon first blush, but I don't think it's as hard as you think. By every act of kindness, every act of love, every small thing we do, we change the world (for good or bad). Maybe it's small, but it helps. "It is better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness." (Confucius) To put it at the simplest level, think of when anyone (even a stranger) smiles at you, or says hello, or opens the door for you... doesn't that put you in a better mood, brighten your day? It does for me. Doesn't that make you more likely to reciprocate, or do something nice for someone else? It does for me. It's a small action, but it might start a chain of small actions. Everything we do affects others, even if we don't know it. Mother Teresa has so many great quotes on this, but I'll limit myself to two. First, "We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop." We might feel it makes no difference to anyone else if we're a little crabby, and this causes us to be a little rude, or simply indifferent to those around us. But life is all about the small actions, the little details. Again from Mother Teresa, "We do not need to carry out grand things in order to show a great love for God and for our neighbor. It is in the intensity of love we put into our gestures that makes them something beautiful for God."

Lastly, I would suggest this... if you are constantly seeking to help others, or simply in the mindset of appreciating everything around us, the reverberations will be felt. Again, at the simplest level, it's like this... when I am able to put the little worries out of my mind, it allows me to focus on the great things of life. When I do that, I'm happier. When I'm happier, I smile more, and help out others more. When I do that, I help make others happier. Still think you have no affect on others? Think about the happiest person you know... are you happier when you're around them? Your happiness makes other people happier, your unselfishness makes other people unselfish... at the same time, your worrying causes other people to worry, your dissatisfaction causes other people to be dissatisfied. There are exceptions to every rule, but I have found that we are indelibly linked to those around us, and we feed off of them many times, whether good or bad. Again, Marianne Williamson writes, "And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." There's a popular quote by Gandhi that says, "Be the change you wish to see in the world." This is not idealistic fluff, it's practical, life-changing advice.

Thank you to all of you who help me look beyond myself, who help me not to be satisfied with being ordinary, who help me reach for my dreams!