Is the beauty of life found in the mundane?

On this lovely midsommer afternoon (actually a morning in October in Budapest far from Sweden), I am faced with this poignant question.

I have been seeking purpose for a while now. Seeking an all-consuming goal. Looking for that one thing that’ll make me drop everything else and hone in on that which I feel irresistibly ‘called’ to but today, I’m faced with a different perspective.

Through a conversation with a colleague a bit more ahead in this cycle of life, I ask what he looks forward to the next year (it’s his birthday tomorrow) and although he starts out grim saying he isn’t excited about growing older, he mentions something afterwards that I believe is profound. He says, ‘I’ve begun to appreciate nature a bit more’.

That’s interesting.

Nothing special. No extravagant party. No balloons. No exclusive memberships. No awards. He’s just learning more so to appreciate what was already there. He probably didn’t help in making any of it happen and like most of us, probably doesn’t do too much to keep it going but that doesn’t matter.

What if today, all we need is to pause and breathe. Honestly, the moments ingrained into my memory are usually the ones where I was present. Not just present enough to participate, but present enough to feel. To register a soulful response to something simple, basic and more often than not, mundane.

I remember one of those days well - I was cycling behind two of my friends this past summer and heaving my 100+kg body up some nasty hill on arguably the worst bike of the bunch (if you know anything about cycling, you know that weight (rider weight and bike weight) make a hugeee difference while going up hills). I had just gotten into cycling about two - three months prior to this and I’m behind two people who have been riding for basically most of their life. I’m in pain and willing myself to go on looking to every source of strength I can imagine (God, my thighs, carbs lol) while trying to catch up to them (I think I had even given up on this at this point).

Then, something crazy happens.

I take a breather and realize the beauty of this moment. Instead of berating myself for how much I suck or trying my best to just stay close enough to them, I realize the hidden beauty of this moment. I am fortunate to not only have a bike but have two pretty good riders who are willing to go riding with me on such crazy adventures and still make me feel like I’m not that bad. In the midst of all the heaving and panting, I realize that it’s an answered prayer moment - friends turned brothers - taking me along on a beautiful ride. Boys hanging out sweating buckets and It’s picture perfect.

I am definitely romanticising this moment as it was not that glamorous. I’m sure even the two guys that I rode with are like “huh? is this what happened?” but I believe my point stands. There is beauty in every moment. We just need to look for it or rather, recognize it. Realize the beauty of the houses on your commute that you can’t afford. Appreciate the comfort of the warm office you don’t like coming in to. Savour the taste of the only stew you know how to make properly. There is beauty in almost every moment of our lives but sometimes, we’re just too distracted to see it.

Maybe, that’s what the bible means when it talks about joy being a fruit of the spirit that applies even in the craziest of situations. It definitely takes a perspective shift to see it and I pray it’s something I get to constantly experience.