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ticking away a dull day



Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” has been rumbling around in my car for the past several weeks. Ethereal, out-there, reverb melodies echo. Lyrics seem odd to the casual ear turned only to the instrumental depiction of helicopters and clock alarms sounding.


The song, “Time” says, “ticking away the moments that make up a dull day.” That phrase has been stuck in my head. Maybe it’s because we view much of life’s routine as dull.


dull: not sharp, blunt, causing boredom, tedious, uninteresting, not intense or lively, passionless, flat, stagnant, routine, usual


What makes up a dull day? The answer to that question is as broad as the people you ask. For me, a dull day is a day without creative stimulus; for others it might mean having to do the same repetitious routine they did the day before and the day before that and so on ad finem.


When I looked dull up in The Thesaurus, words like common, usual, routine and ordinary came up, along with a slew of others. Some caught my attention because they are words I defend, especially common and ordinary.


Ordinary Time represents an ordered life where we aren’t feasting or fasting, but living the common life set before us.


How do I stay faithful and relevant in the ordinary?


In the song, the writer found no inspiration in the routine – even the sun or rain. It was all slipping away, even when running to catch the sunset. So how do we keep from being stuck in a spot where we’re just ticking away the dullness?


Dull is perceived. Everyday doings can be viewed as worthy stimulus or tossed into the dull, mundane pile. Barbara Brown Taylor’s book, “An Altar in the World,” has impacted my life. She speaks of finding enjoyment and the greater good in all of our endeavors. Rather than simply looking at the task, she asks questions like how does this action change me or others? Is it a way of helping to make a better day for someone?


If I can keep my head wrapped around this perspective, then in theory there should be no dull days. Now in reality, I live with dull just like everyone else. I want to be enticed and entertained on some grand adventure. That however would be the feasting part of Ordinary. And, it’s necessary to live the regular, ordered, common life. If we didn’t, there’d be no meals and no clean clothes. We’d be lost in our flat, one-dimensional, dull lives.


Living a common, generous life –

Missy


If you have been mildly amused, challenged or inspired by what you have read, please pass on my blog to a friend, colleague, family member or even random acquaintance


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