The Other Side

To my son Tommy,

I constantly extol the benefits of routines.  If I ever write a self-help book I think it will be titled "Embracing The Routine!"  It will be filled with examples of how the word routine got a bad rap.  The book will show how routines make things easier, safer, more comforting, etc.  But from time to time you have to adjust a routine even if ever so slightly.

This morning I found myself rushing to church.  One minute here, one minute there, adding a morning chore, all added up to me running late.  As I got out of my truck the steeple bells began to ring for seven o'clock.  I ran up from the lower parking lot and with no time to go in my normal entrance, my hand hit the door handle on the other side of the church as the seventh bell rang.  I snuck in (though mass hadn't started yet) and promptly found a seat.  I was on the complete opposite side of my normal perch.

A little change like this, whether by accident or on purpose, really does make things seem different.  As the first reading was read,  I sat there pondering exactly what odd set of coincidences made me late.  Convinced of the fact that I should just go with the flow and accept the change,  I looked up and saw a statue and a candle I had never noticed before.  It had to have been there for the ages, this nice statue of what I assume to be St. Agnes carry her sheep with one solitary candle at the base of the stone figure, but here it was my first time giving it any attention or acknowledgement.  What other treasures had I missed?

If you have a routine, that is great.  But sometimes take yourself out of your routine.  Alter your routine ever so slightly even if just for a day and you will be amazed what you see.  A different prospective, a different point of view, a brand new experience.  Nothing says you can't return to the tried and true, but don't get so stagnant and stalemated or you will never be able to discover and enjoy those things you don't even know you are missing.

Sincerely with love from your dad,
Leo