Ordinary Time

I am intrigued by the power of the ordinary. I believe it is the Quakers who say that doing your work to the best of your ability on ordinary days gets you ready to keep functioning during the turbulent times when discipline and perseverance feel impossible to achieve.

Ordinary used to be a word I avoided — like boring, so-so, mediocre. I left dirty dishes in the sink last night, I did them early this morning. Scrubbed some of the hardened pasta sauce off the plates. Washed kefir that clung to two glasses. One by one, getting it done, putting the dirty silverware in the basket— remembering my friend telling me, she was old enough now that she put her grandmother’s best dishes in the dishwasher. I poured the the detergent in, pressed the button — always a small delay, then the water sounds, the blue light winks — I’m working. I am blessed to have a dishwasher. Cleaning the sink now, wiping up the little pieces of food muck. I used to hate doing the dishes as a kid. I had so many excuses. I might have developed my storytelling chops in those years as I creatively got out of tasks. I like clean things now, I like order, I like early morning, so early not even the dog is up. It is quiet here outside of Santa Fe. Brooklyn always had a hum, a shout, a screech of tires. Not here. Except for the coyotes. Change. Big change.

How often I try to think my way through these days of cultural and political disruption. Nothing has ever felt like this. Good Grief, did you see what happened this morning? Another shooting. Another cop-out. I’m worried about the FBI — I never once worried about them. People talking talking lies, whom can you trust? What’s the right thing to do, to say, what’s the right path to take, how to gather up all the big decisions that need to be made, how to find the way through? A prayer for wisdom, a a prayer for hope and clarity. Broken focus — I’m all over the place. My oven is dirty — I need to clean it. I don’t understand the self-cleaner button on the oven. I come from people who don’t push too many buttons. When it’s dirty, we clean it ourselves.

I think of an article I read from an old magazine that I’d been saving. It was about sheep — ordinary animals. Not particularly bright, certainly not long-term planners. Sheep, the article said, can easily get stuck. They can make a path through a field and end up standing at a wall, not sure what to do. They stand there, don’t even turn around and retrace their steps. I remember a cartoon — a modern-day shepherd is sitting at his computer zooming with his flock of sheep. He says, “Hi guys. I’ll be herding from home today.”

I sweep the floor. We have all-brick floors here. I remember watching Peter, the master brick-layer, methodically lay down each brick. Fascinating, exacting, ordinary, the next one, the next one. But all those bricks made a floor, sure and true. “Brick by brick, my citizens…” Emporer Hadrian reportedly said, to encourage the people of Rome to rebuild their city after a terrible fire.

I think of the ordinary wisdom that was imparted to me as a child:

. Be a good listener.

. Be kind.

. Don’t use a black marker when you’re wearing white pants.

. Do your best work.

. Don’t interrupt.

. Don’t lie.

. Respect your elders.

. Never leave an empty TP roll in the bathroom, always get a new roll and replace it on the TP dispenser — do not put it the new roll on the back of the toilet or on the sink, you were raised better than that.

. Don’t push to the front of the line.

. Be nice to your neighbors.

. Don’t lean against someone else’s car.

. Don’t walk on railroad tracks,.

. Don’t approach a raccoon — it has enough friends.

. Don’t ignore a mouse in the house because there are one hundred outside waiting to get in.

. Bring back your library books on time.

. If you see a sign that reads, NO SWIMMING… believe it.

. Say “please” and “thank you”.

. Don’t cheat.

. Don’t pick flowers in someone else’s garden.

. Laugh at old people’s jokes.

. Save your money for a rainy day.

. Think about others more than you think about yourself.

. If you come upon a brown bear, do not run, for that will cause the bear to come after you and, trust us, the bear always wins,

. If you come upon a shark, and that, normally would involve being in water, it’s best to hit it on the nose, and you’ll be fine.

. Think before you speak.

. Count to ten if you have something really important to say.

. If someone asks you, “Do I look fat in these pants?” — always say no.

So much we have inside to guide us though these un-ordinary days. I wipe the smudges off the refrigerator, make dark black French press coffee, watch the grounds cure for one minute, pour the rest of the water in. Set my crazy bird timer for six minutes. Oh, the aroma of proper coffee. Time to get to work.

Please help spread the word…