Nothing special but it is extremely difficult when done correctly.I push myself to live a meaningful life, a life of purpose and effort. I have written those two words, “purpose and effort”, more than any other words in my journals. Still those two words remain a mystery to me as much as they are a guiding force for how I wish to live my life.
Purpose and effort are undefinable words to me in the broad sense of their meaning. Those terms are just too damn debatable when you get down to it. How am I supposed to know what the correct level of purpose is or the amount of effort to place into my work? Is the point of exhaustion enough effort? Is getting up only to finish something what can be called purpose? Or are they simply labels we place upon ourselves and our actions?
I came across the words “nothing special” while reading about a Japanese therapy technique. The idea awakened a new thought for me. Get good at it. Get good at doing all those things in my life that are nothing special.
How many things do I touch in a day that are nothing special, but the importance of doing it correctly is important?
The first thing I think about is my wife's coffee cup. Every morning she uses the same orange coffee cup. She leaves it on her desk or on the counter every day. Sometimes I find it in the bathroom. Everyday I pick it up and place it in the dishwasher, slightly irritated that I had to do this again. Every morning if it's not in the cabinet she checks the dishwasher for it and then washes it out for herself.
If I were to wash it by hand and place it back into the cabinet so that it would be ready for her the next day, that would be nothing special on my end.
It would become an act of “secret service”. A small act of kindness, daily. Without bringing attention to myself (accept for this blog post...but you get my point) a small act of nothing special to make life more enjoyable and easier.
Doing things correctly is nothing special but it does take purpose and effort.
That is a definable idea.
