The Remarkable Gift from Unremarkable Acts

I had a CT scan this week and as I read the doctor’s report, I focused on the areas where problems were described. However, my attention was then drawn to the other areas described with one simple word—unremarkable. I know that is considered a good thing indicating a specific area looked normal. But I thought to myself, how can any part of the body be considered unremarkable.

I remember while being a caregiver during the last year of my nephew’s life, I was so amazed at the functions of his body. Without going into detail, I saw how it healed from such devastating wounds. I was amazed to see how it compensated in different ways to prolong his life. Even though I was devastated when eventually his body couldn’t recover, I was very grateful for the extra time we had with him.

I truly feel our bodies are remarkable, whether dealing with challenges or considered normal. But it also makes me wonder about life itself. I’m guessing at some point in our lives, we all want to feel remarkable in some way. But whose definition do we go by to qualify for living a remarkable life? If everything is considered normal or nothing too exciting is happening, does that mean our lives are unremarkable?

I wrote in my last blog about shifting my focus inward. Not in a selfish way by no longer caring for anyone else. But in a healing way of discovering how to live an authentic life without expecting others to make it better for me. To most, the actions I’ve taken the last several days would seem quite unremarkable. Yet the learning that has occurred has felt very remarkable.

As I indicated, I’ve really been struggling for some time now. Work has been overwhelming and exhausting. I have become very disconnected from my family, feeling very alone. My body has been experiencing several challenges causing a lot of physical pain. My spiritual reservoir dried up, and my emotional wellbeing has felt like being stuck on a never-ending roller coaster ride.

This week, none of that changed. However, the way I approached things did. I tried to stay present for whatever appeared without needing to change it. I made choices based on what felt right to me, not what I thought others wanted. I chuckled when realizing an action was my ego seeking out validation only to be annoyed when it backfired. I cried when tough emotions arose and I practiced trusting my own intuition.

Those simple acts may seem unremarkable, but the changes I felt were not. Part of the remarkable change that occurred was I stopped trying to fix everything. Instead, I just acknowledged the challenge and then I acted. For example, when I get overwhelmed at work, I shut down which makes things worse. But this time I just acknowledged the overwhelm without trying to make it go away and then got to work.

As I practiced this in various areas, I noticed feeling calmer and more productive. I also started making conscious choices that sometimes didn’t follow the approved norm. I wasn’t intentionally trying to do anything bad but just made decisions that felt aligned with my true nature. If I acted and then learned it wasn’t quite aligned with my values, I had the power to choose a different direction the next time. The remarkable thing about this process was the absence of shame … mostly.

Why I find all this so remarkable is because nothing on the outside changed. I didn’t have more support, and situations didn’t suddenly become easier. I continued to experience physical pain, and my emotional roller coaster did not finally come to a stop. Instead, I looked for answers within and trusted in my own intuition. I chose to act and move toward a more authentic life instead of getting lost in figuring out how to do it.

Does that mean the week was perfect. No, not even close. This is a lifetime practice that will have many ups and downs and twists and turns. But I now see that what appears as unremarkable, everyday acts can create a remarkable gift of living an authentic life. So, maybe those simple acts are pretty remarkable after all.