The Transcendent and the Ordinary

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Photo by Michael W. May titled “Impressions through a dirty window”

 

 

My Home is a Temple

My home is a temple

With pinnacles of dirty dishes

And large glass windows stained

With fingerprints and water marks.

As the priestess of this sanctuary

I offer up our soiled laundry

At the altar of the washing machine.

It emerges transformed.

Each morning I prepare

A sacrament of coffee and toast

So that we might celebrate

The preciousness of life.

We are all in need of sustenance and caffeine

To smooth over our natural and cranky state.

My home is a temple

To the everyday

Where we ritualize the necessary

And always remember that the

Common

Ordinary

Mundane

Are also the

Sacred

Meaningful

Mystical.

Amen.

I wrote this poem in response to the On Being blog post by Christena Cleveland. I am guilty of desiring the transcendent instead of celebrating the ordinary, in the false belief that God resides beyond the everydayness of our lives. I had not considered the broader implications of such a belief, that the ability to escape from the ordinary is a privilege. I am working to create a shift in my own thinking.

Where in your everyday life do you find holiness? What kinds of daily actions do you consider to be sacred rituals?