Sometimes, I get the urge to write when something is going on in my life, or perhaps if I get a random mental lightning strike of inspiration (often borne of weariness à la my DFW post). But this happens irregularly and it’s even more infrequent that an idea actually makes it into a post.
But today was a little different.
Nothing big happened. As I often do, I sat down to work for the day (#TGIF), polished off a few hours. Had lunch at my desk. And I noticed the Amazon delivery driver had pulled up in the driveway. It’s not terribly hot today here in Indiana but I saw him struggle with the loaded box of books that I had ordered earlier this week.
I feel for delivery drivers. They work tight deadlines and schlep a bunch of crap for people who may or may not even appreciate the jobs that they do. The ones I’ve worked with never seem to complain. By contrast, I can turn a mild work inconvenience into a major catastrophe – and god forbid I’m not recognized for the “sacrifices” that I make for the “team.” But this good fellow dropped off my books before I made it to the door, and was long gone by the time I stepped out onto the porch to claim my goods.
My goal, for Goodreads posterity, is to read one book a month. For the first time in four years, I’ve already met my goal and might even double this number. As an exceptionally slow reader, it’s a bit of an accomplishment. The books I ordered will all be part of this silly reading experiment and put me closer to doubling my goal on the year.
I plucked a book from the stack to begin, leaned back in my chair, and thought to myself, Man, this is the life!
And what if it is?
What if life’s not about what’s going on right now, or the strike of inspiration. Maybe the good stuff is about having a light workday at the end of the week. Getting a new book from Amazon to read during the weekend. And realizing that there are two more uninterrupted days of this, if that’s what I want.
Again, nothing big happened. Just the realization that the little things can sometimes be the big thing.
Pax Plena 