Why This Title?

"FINDING MAGIC IN THE MUNDANE"

With every year I live, every foreign and unknown place I visit, and every experience I have, I realize more and more how life is basically made up of a slew of mundane events happening over and over. Some days we realize how mundane and routine they are, but most days we think nothing of it, doing whatever it is that occupies our days as a prisoner of habit. Just think of the events of your life that seem to occur each and every day, often at the same time and place. The necessities of life take up most of the time: grocery shopping, laundry, doing dishes, bathing, cooking, exercising, brushing teeth, eating, sleeping, cleaning, working, etc. For most people, there is no escaping these daily, or at least weekly tasks, and for many, these tasks are done not only for themselves, but also for their family. But there are also non-necessities that seem to become habits for us, leading us deeper and deeper into a mundane life--watching television, reading, emailing, talking on the telephone, blogging :), watching movies, etc. Eventually, life seems to bring the same routine, same habits, same events, day after day. To a certain extent, there is no escaping these, or at least those deemed "necessary."

What is life all about and what makes it special? Is there magic to be found in the everyday routines that make up what we call life? I believe there is and it is right under our noses, if we were only to wipe away the fog that has covered the lenses of our eyes, having built up after days of mundane living. God did not place us here to live mundane lives, but to live life to the fullest, finding blessings in the simplicities in life, seeing His hand at work in the back alleys, taking pleasure in the gifts He has given, making memories of people, places, and things He places around us. There is always something more special going on behind the scenes of our humdrum lives. As much of a reality as it is that our lives become routine and habitual, that doesn't mean that these events should be void of all meaning and magic; for, there is some dose of magic in everything. A simple joy in the routines of life can bring about the often stifled magic. I believe with all my heart that God did not create us and place us in these lives simply to live humdrum lives of habit and routine, but instead, to live these lives with a sense of joy, a sense of purpose, a resounding praise and glory toward Him, with full knowledge that He is at work and doing something behind the scenes bigger than our eyes can perceive. Life is magical if we will only uncover the magic of it.

So this is the reasoning behind "Finding Magic in the Mundane." Life here in Bishkek is as mundane and humdrum for me as it is in America, if not more so. My schedule is quite the same with every passing day, being filled with some random events from day to day, but each day as a double shot review of that previous. Wake up, read and pray, run, swim or walk, decide what to eat for breakfast (bread, yogurt, apple, cream of wheat, or egg), plan lessons, go to the bazaar (get ripped off), wash clothes by hand (if the water is on), do dishes (if the water is on), print lessons (if the printer works and the power is on), send a letter (if the poshta is open), go to class (teach lazy students, hope that the VCR works, hope for a decent chalkboard), go to office to send an email (if the computer is free, if the computer is working, and if the internet is working), come home (get hassled by people on the way), decide what to make for dinner, make dinner in the one frying pan or small pot (also used as a mixing bowl and a serving bowl), throw out the milk (three days old), take out the trash (of used toilet paper) on the way to class again (teach tired students), come home to flat to sit in darkness and read by candlelight (because power is off), boil water for drinking the next day (if the water is on), try to call a friend (if the phone works), decide to go to bed at 9:30pm because there is simply nothing else to do, wake up at 3:00am (by crying baby upstairs or drunk, rowdy men outside), wake up at 6:30am to do it all over again.

As exciting as it sounds to live overseas, and maybe scary for some, it is not all that exciting after the first couple months, especially if you have no close friends to share it with. Life got mundane here very quickly and has continued to be ever since. This above is a fairly accurate picture of life here for me, with the exception of the power and water seeming to be always turned off. In reality, they are off between one and three times a month on different days each. Everything else is a daily, or at least weekly hassle. You get used to it after a while. It's mundane. Boring. Humdrum. Unexciting. But at the same time, there is something special in it that I only see when I allow myself to see it. I have to make myself wipe away the fog over my eyes in order to see the magic that lies beneath the seeming meaninglessness or humdrumness of everything. It is there and there is joy, pleasure, and meaning... magic to be found. I must only look.