MAKE THE MUNDANE MAGICAL!
I’ll be the first to admit there is nothing magical about mucking a stall or milking a cow. Neither is there anything magical about cleaning house, or picking up your toys (if you are a child), UNLESS you make it magical! Remember the old Disney song “Whistle while you work”… I’ll bet you can hear the tune in your head just by my mentioning those four words!
Life can be more enjoyable if we learn to enjoy the things we HAVE to do…if we learn to find the magic in doing them…the spark! I will give you a few examples:
- 1. try making a game of picking up toys with your child or grandchild.
- 2. put on some music while you are cleaning house or doing dishes…maybe even dance with the broom.
- 3. play a game while traveling…alphabets on signs, state license plates and a U.S. map, find a red-colored car…etc., you get the idea.
- 4. take a walk in the rain (WITHOUT an umbrella!) and splash in the puddles!
I play this game with my granddaughter when it’s time to go in the house after playing outside. She never wants to go in. She loves playing in the back yard…but I have no issues getting her to come in if I say three simple words: “I’m gonna win.” With that, she is off and running for the back door and there are no tears about leaving the “playground”, as she calls it!
So, we have a barn, obviously, right? We have a radio in the barn that plays a local country station (shout out to @WCOL 92.3 Columbus!). There are a few songs in particular that make me want to dance and even if I am milking, I struggle NOT to get up and dance. One day I was either getting ready to milk or had just finished when one of these songs came on and I DID IT! I DANCED in the middle of the barn!
Oh! I got the looks and not just from the cows but from my husband who happened to walk back into the barn just as I was getting started…but I didn’t let that stop me. I just enjoyed myself!
There are lots of ways to make the mundane magical. Just try looking at the world from a child’s perspective. The buds on the trees and the new blooming flowers, a robin’s nest with brilliant blue eggs in it, a flock of geese flying overhead, the delighted squeals of children at a neighborhood park…all of these things are magical, if you just take the time to appreciate them.
When you look at the world with fresh eyes, you not only can enjoy the ordinary and the mundane, but you can appreciate the blessings you may take for granted every day! There are lots of things out there to make us grow up too fast, or make us forget what it was like to be a child of wonder! When you have the chance to live a little, let your hair down and dance with the mop, or dance in the barn or whistle while you work! Whatever it might be, DO IT! I guarantee you won’t be sorry…and I’ll bet the people around you will notice and you might find that familiar lilt in your step or a more frequent smile on your face!
