last week someone was telling me about these podcasts called
on being. i have honestly never listened to a podcast, but after listening to her passionately tell me about how much she enjoys it, i decided to give it a shot while on the treadmill this week.
preface: a woman interviews different people each week who come from all different backgrounds- religious people, non-religious people, CEOs, homemakers, athletes, poets, etc. each one tells their story and each is fascinating and different, causing you to leave each podcast with MUCH to think about.
why i love it: it gives me reason to think deeper than i do everyday & it gives me something different to think about. each person usually talks about their spiritual journey, and being religious myself, i love listening to their stories!
this week: i listened to
the poetry of ordinary time. the interviewee was the new york state poet and she talked about growing up as a Catholic, losing her brother to aids and writing her life through poetry. something i particularly liked were her comments on [ordinary time].
question:
do you remember the eye color of the cashier at the grocery store today?
do you know what kind of shoes your professor was wearing today?
did you notice whether the person parked next to you at the stoplight was a man or woman? old or young?
of course not. no one would remember the answers to those questions
because we are too busy focusing on the next thing and not what's right in front of us. AND we don't notice the
fine details.
ordinary time refers to the idea that we are living in the moment of whats happening and taking it all in. today i forced myself to notice the fine details of what was in front of me & experience ordinary time:
droplets on the plastic strawberry container
dust on the car vents
the wear and tear of the key cards
the temple sticker that i put on my computer when i was 18, but had never really noticed until earlier
all these things are things that on a normal day would not cause me to stop. but i really loved being extra aware and having my senses hightened to a point where i was noticing these things.
a while back a russian poet was exiled from the soviet union for writing poetry. in an interview with the new york state poet (earlier mentioned) he said: you americans are so naive. you think that evil is going to come through the door wearing big, black boots. when really it's in the language.
she then talks about how as a society we have lost our voices to our phones, computers and tablets, and how these have become our main form of language. (think about it. it's totally true.) and because we are walking across crosswalks looking at our phones, texting in class, answering countless emails 20+ times a day, blah, blah, blah... we are making it easy to forget ordinary time- thus missing the fine details of our lives.
i loved it! i loved this podcast and i've listened to it twice since! since i listened to it a couple days ago, i've really made a conscious effort to put away my phone, instagram, facebook and pinterest (nnooooooo not pinterest....) and look at the world in front of me. and boy have i been missing a lot.
