“Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world. ” John Milton
On Sunday morning, the desert sky hid from me. The day spoke of little light, tears streaming down the sidewalk, and the taste of gritty sand in my mouth. I made a decision to commit to my morning run despite the overcast and pensive hover of the clouds. Rain is a novelty in the desert and it often leaves even before it has a real chance to land. As I began my run, I smelled the sage and lavender bushes, the mixture of both a welcome smell.
After completing the first half of my regular route, I noticed the swirl in the sky. The grey clouds moved a little faster and then, within a minute, a torrent of rain released itself from the sky. I picked up the cadence of my run, but with more than 2 miles to go, the water hit my baseball cap and fell into my eyes. My arms creases cradled the water and my feet splashed mini puddles on the pavement. By the time I neared the end of my route, the clouds disappeared and the rain diminished. Although soaked, the experience of running in the rain left me rejuvenated.
And in it, I sensed an epiphany. In the last twenty years, I’ve questioned my own restlessness and am in constant motion to find peace of mind. Sometimes I think I try too hard and maybe it exists in the everyday. All weekend I focused on ordinary details of my own life and to my surprise, peace really existed everywhere. In my child’s laughter over a piggyback ride. A Sunday nap under a snuggly blanket. Snacking on chili paneer samosas in the middle of the afternoon with my husband and daughter. Squeezing in some writing time in my office. A phone conversation with a good friend. Reading Jane Eyre. All of these things, every one of them, are simple acts. It was running in the rain that led to this discovery. That peace is in the everyday details. There doesn’t always have to be a life altering experience.
Everyday epiphanies. They are everywhere. Find yours.
Image by Paul Albertella
Welcome! I am a lawyer turned freelance writer, essayist, and editor. On staff at Literary Mama and the co-founder and co-editor of the literary journal, The Sunlight Press, my essays and reported work have appeared in The Washington Post, The Lily, Saveur, Civil Eats, Brain, Child, ESPN and elsewhere. I am currently at work on a memoir on grief and culture and how it provides perspective on life’s ordinary graces. I invite you to appreciate the ordinary with me. I hope my daily practice of seeing the magic in the mundane helps you celebrate and find more of these moments in your life too.
That was so beautiful Rudri and so true. Than you for saying it so wonderfully xx
Thanks Annie. Appreciate the compliment. Hope life is treating you well.
I love running in the rain. And. oh, how I miss it. Hopefully, with some luck, I’ll be hobbling in the rain very, very soon and looking for those everyday epiphanies wherever I can find them.
One of my favorite ordinary experiences is when the elements of the universe converge doing their thing and i’m not so self-absorbed that I take notice. Like catching a glimpse of a sunset that colors the sky while I’m driving or seeing a ful moon appear from behind a redwood tree. It sounds like you had quite an experience with running in the rain in the desert — a seemingly ordinary occurence that makes you appreciate the mere fact of simply being alive.
Rudri, I love your post. The other night I saw the most beautiful moon and as I marveled at the beauty , I felt peace come over me. The daily magic is inspiring when we open our heart to feel it. I am happy that you had a wonderful weekend.
What a wonderfully true statement.
I love your writing and blog. I have always thought that gratitude is the key to happiness. Take Care.
Thanks Anuja. Appreciate the compliment. Gratitude makes it easier to enjoy the highs and process the lows. Thanks for stopping by.
Being in the wind among the sage and lavender sounds wonderful.
I need to be better about this very thing! You always give me such good reminders.
Lovely words, Rudri. Most of us have so much good fortune – exactly where we are, in everyday moments. Thank you for reminding us so eloquently.
I’m with you! I feel this way very much when I’m off for a walk or a run. It’s why I’ve made exercise a normal part of my routine. I don’t resent it anymore or see it as something I have to do to be healthy; I want to do it to be healthy, to have those everyday epiphanies. (It also helps me work out what I’m going to write in my head.)
This is a beautiful reminder for all of us. Thank you! And isn’t it true? It’s sometimes in the simplest things that bring the greatest joys.
Your opening paragraph is gorgeous, Rudri. So detailed and expressive. Thank you for this important reminder to be open to the quotidian moments that always bring grace. xo