Experience Life as EXTRA Ordinary

Did you sit down at your desk today and feel like you've experienced this same day before?  Seems like life repeats itself over and over and over again.  Groundhog Day!

Experience Life as Extraordinary!

The definition of Wisdom is the soundness of act or decision based on knowledge, experience and good judgment. To live wisely, then, means to deepen our life experiences.  Sure, we can travel all over the world and have amazing experiences, but most of the time, we have the opportunity to experience our everyday life as extra-ordinary.

When I was in college, earning my chemical engineering degree, I was required to take a physical education elective.  For most of us engineers, we thought it was an opportunity to take a break from calculus, organic chemistry and physics.  Many of my friends took volleyball and martial arts. I decided to take … Ballet I. 

As you might imagine, when I walked into Day 1, I quickly discovered, I was the only guy in the class.  And even though it was Ballet I, all the young woman had taken a dance class sometime in their life.  Ballet I was anything but an easy break from my engineering curriculum!  It took discipline and stretched my body and brain in ways I had never imagined! 

But I LOVED the discipline and precision of it. 

I loved going from a chemical engineering class, over to the dance studio and changing clothes.   My entire world changed when my hand touched the barre for the first set of warmup plies.  In the midst of the grind of my chemical engineering curriculum, I experienced something extra ordinary. 

Decades later, I'm now on the board for Dance and the Performing Arts in Minneapolis.  I would have never served my community in this significant way if I hadn't stood at that registration desk at my college and checked the box …. Ballet I. 

What happens if you don't step out of that extraordinary?

Hmm…I suppose you live an ordinary life.

Why not challenge yourself and step through a portal to experience something extra-ordinary today?    We have the choice EVERY DAY to live an extra ordinary life! 

You can choose big portals and go have grand experiences, but even today, just step into an extraordinary experience somehow.  

• Put a bouquet of flowers at your dinner table tonight and light a candle
• Look at 3 people directly in the eyes today and say Thank You
• Take your shoes and socks off. Go outside and step on the ground, even if it's snowy!
• Chew your food a few extra times and discover the flavor of each ingredient
• Plan a simple surprise for one person today

These little portals may carry you into new ways of thinking and maybe even a new way of living! 

Living wisely means experiencing the extra ordinary today.