What brought me here?
Amongst the different milestones we prepare for in life, there are things that we encounter along the way that are disguised as ordinary days, only for them to bring forth major changes in our lives. Those are nowhere near ordinance. A random phone call, from someone known or unknown, who then delivers to your attention pieces of information that could have life-altering consequences for the long haul.
The fact is, we are always reminded to do the things we love when we can, because on an ordinary Tuesday, something about you or your life may happen and change your life forever. Positively or negatively. And the things that used to matter don’t matter anymore. People who used to make sense don’t make sense anymore.
Imagine going through life frantically, and then on an ordinary Tuesday, the things you thought you’d do, you can no longer do them because life just happened. No one prepared you; no one forewarned you, but they just happened.
I met a gentleman a couple of weeks ago. On an ordinary Tuesday, if I must (implying that the meet-up was just as random). He was passing the time and waiting for his flight later that evening. From how he sounded, he seemed like he was from Congo or somewhere around that side. His accent sold him away. During our interaction, he told me that it was his birthday that day. (As it’s the norm, I couldn’t help but wish him a happy birthday). He acknowledged, then told me that he doesn’t celebrate his birthday. As a matter of fact, he told me, he has his phone deliberately off, so that no one can reach him and wish him a good one. He said he intended to switch it back on at 1:00 am and respond to those who looked or sounded urgent. But nothing about him acknowledging his birthday.
At that time, I had started writing this article, and I remember fishing out my phone and showing him that I’m writing this article for people like you. Well, not necessarily him, but for people who have chosen to move through life thinking that their days are just as ordinary as a random Tuesday. I remember telling him it’s not about the dos and don’ts of the day, nor the celebrations and the hullabaloo that come with the day, but just the heart acknowledgement that today is indeed my birthday, and it’s just best to rejoice and not reject it. Or hide from it. I told him his birthday is as important as his work and that he was not just going to let his day pass just like an ordinary Tuesday. I reminded him that it’s a special time to him, if not to his family, and urged him to do something before the day ends.
He went on a raging rant about how he was adopted. He insisted that he doesn’t think his family recognizes him as that special, to even consider celebrating his birthday. I remember feeling sorry for him but then reminded him that he is now an adult, who has the willpower to do something about the beliefs he’s grown, holding onto about the lack of importance of his birthday. I told him his existence is important, whether it’s recognized by him or his family. So, he shouldn’t treat his birthday as an ordinary Tuesday. I learnt about how he got adopted. He lost his parents at about the age of ten. His uncle took him and raised him alongside his other five children, and I think maybe for him growing up, he felt like just a needle in a haystack in that family.
What strikes me occasionally as odd (maybe not too odd) is how people will swiftly move on with life after your existence on this earth is no longer needed (sorry, this is a bit harsh). Okay, maybe let me not say (not needed), but maybe when your time on earth expires (any better?) I am avoiding saying the word death, but that doesn’t make it any less evil. So, when this event happens, which will be on an ordinary Tuesday (again, not to imply it will happen on a Tuesday but rather on a random unplanned day). People will still move on with life. People will even eat! Imagine that. Your body is lying cold somewhere, and people still have the guts to eat!! Yes, they will, and maybe even eat their favorite food that day. Because their meal consumption has nothing to do with your non-existence.
Harsh right?
Ordinary Tuesday is written for people to remind them not to take each day seriously and at the same time not to take it lightly either.
Because when we least expect, something big might happen to us, or to the people we love, which may change us, change them forever.
This is also written to remind people that we need to move with grace. We need to move with humility. We need to move in a way that our encounters with them will not just leave a good taste in their mouths but make them better than they were before meeting you. Make them feel better. Because maybe life has happened to them, on an ordinary Tuesday, which they didn’t expect. Neither anticipated it, nor had they prepared for it. They had just encountered their ordinary Tuesday.
On this fateful day, you will get a call with news about something you have been praying for years. You will get news about something you have been prepping for, perhaps, your entire life. It’s not just doom that happens on an ordinary Tuesday, but even the best of them can happen. You could seal your business deal, your promotion could come knocking, or you could get an approval for something you pitched ages ago and forgot about because you thought the idea was just as silly. It could be news of pregnancy after years of trying. A baby that is born who will bring forth joy to a family might have happened on just an ordinary Tuesday.
I read a story some time ago about a lady athlete who was once okay and normal. By normal, I mean, she was physically fine. Her limbs and all were functioning just okay. Just like everyone else’s. Then one day, she developed something on her foot that looked like a healing wound. I can’t quite recall what it was. But in the end of this story, she ended up losing her foot. She had to undergo surgery to save her life, and that foot was what was standing between her health and her death. So, on an ordinary Tuesday, she wrote her story, and she spoke about how life was for her after that life-altering surgery. How she’s now having to cope with life footless. On that ordinary Tuesday, she lost her foot. Now she’s no longer as fit as he was, having to adjust to moving around using crutches. Isn’t it just strange how suddenly life changed? Just like that, she had to give up on her athletic career?
On an ordinary Tuesday, you will be fired. Without warning. Sadly. You’d wished you had seen the Signs. On an ordinary Tuesday, you will be served with divorce papers (this you might have had a clue unless you are an A-class delulu.) On an ordinary Tuesday, your house will burn down (literally or just on paper). On an ordinary Tuesday, you will be ashamed and embarrassed by the people who thought they loved you(this is not A-class delulu, but it might happen in ways you never expected). On an ordinary Tuesday, you will receive positive results of a medical test you had been ignoring. And you are now faced with the possibilities of living with a disease in your body that you didn’t know you had until that ordinary Tuesday when the doctor calls you and says I’m sorry, but you have…. On an ordinary Tuesday, you will be carefreely watching TV, only for your show to be interrupted by devastating news about a fire breaking out in what looks like a school that your child goes to. An ordinary, simple Tuesday, and your life turns into the unimaginable. On an ordinary Tuesday, you will wake up, go to work, and not go back home.
Get the picture?
Of how life just happens on an ordinary Tuesday?
I get it too.
And that is why I decided to write this piece. We need to learn to move with grace and humility. We need to learn to love with care. We need to learn to live with intention. We need to learn to be present. We need to learn to enjoy the moment we are living in. We can’t rehearse our lives today. But we can choose to make every moment count when we are with people we love and care for, or when we are with ourselves. We need to learn to enjoy each other’s company and be genuine with our apologies. This is because life moves, days happen, and oh, Ordinary Tuesday happens.
This is a constant reminder not to treat each day you have as just any day, but rather, acknowledge it as a special day. They say, live like you are going to die tomorrow, and read like you will live forever. This statement alone reminds us to ensure we are living with reason. Seek healing if you can, forgive from the heart, pray with wisdom and clarity for those things that seem just ordinary but may one day alter your Tuesday.
AI Copied notes: [Mondays carries expectations, Fridays carries anticipation, Sundays carries reflection, Tuesdays however carries nothing at all. The day we all assumed it was just ordinary.]
#sensesnhumor.
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