Life is a commodity that is often taken for granted. Rarely do we stop to ask ourselves what is the value expressed in our actions and choices. In fact, for most of the day we forget that we are choosing at all. We just do what we do, day after day! Every now and then something causes us to stop and think more deeply. For me this has happened when I’ve been sick, grieving, afraid or at times of change in my life. It also happens when I’m asked to write an article like this one.
Now in the church cycle we have moved into “Ordinary” time. It’s good to take a look at where we find hope and new possibilities in the ordinary, daily events of our lives. Where do we look? As we begin a new year I invite you to look at your ordinary happenings and see the signs of meaning and hope that are given to you through them.
Yesterday I asked this question of a group of people from Cana Communities. They are people who try to be the “extended family” for each other at a transition time in their lives when they are making lots of effort to establish new patterns of behaviour. The responses were both ordinary and amazing.
It was a very ordinary barbecue for anyone observing our group in Redfern Park on a beautiful sunny Saturday afternoon. A group of seven adults of mixed ages and gender around a table – check tablecloth, salads, plates, drinks and nibbles on the table while some of the men cooked the sausages and rissoles before bringing them to the table. Conversation flowed, calls were taken on mobiles and controversies resolved by consulting Siri! All very ordinary.
When I asked each person in the group what would they name as a new possibility for life they had experienced since becoming part of the Cana Community they spoke of getting together, conversations, helping each other, doing something for someone else (the barbecue was initiated by one of the men who is now in full-time employment and wanted to share his good fortune!), remembering how to love and feel, and “opening your arms wide”. One of the men remarked: “This afternoon shows you can still do normal things like go to the park for a barbecue with decent people.”
I left the gathering aware of the rich blessing I had received in such company. We had all shared a meal, an ordinary event, and also named what importance it held for us in nourishing our spirits as well as our bodies. It truly was a moment of awareness that the journey outward (caring for and sharing with each other) leads us to the journey inward where our spirits are nurtured and renewed.
