A Gloriously Ordinary Year: Day 1 - The launch!
In October, I launched Gloriously Ordinary Lives! I invited guests to join me for a one-hour webinar so I could introduce them to what I have been I have been talking about for years - creating Gloriously Ordinary Lives!
We delved into what it meant to have a ‘Gloriously Ordinary Life’, why it mattered and an introduction to the Four Tests of creating Gloriously Ordinary Lives. Participants joined from all across the United Kingdom - from Cornwall to Birmingham!
During the session, I asked people to reflect on the question ‘What do Gloriously Ordinary Lives look like’? Here’s what they said…
The words that appear larger in the graphic - these are what people most commonly answered. And the smaller words? Oh those are just the mundane and the heart sing…
What do I mean by the ‘mundane’ and the ‘heart sing’?
I’ve written all about it over here, but whilst I have you, let me expand. The mundane are those things we do, often unremarkable, that are just part of our everyday life - taking out the bins, feeding the cat, making the bed, paying a bill… And the heart sing? These are the moments that bring us joy - that make our hearts sing! Catching up with a friend, reading a book you can’t put down, gardening or looking through old photographs.
Gloriously Ordinary Lives are about getting both the mundane and the heart sing.
Now don’t get me wrong - living a Gloriously Ordinary Life doesn’t mean it is without challenges, grief, pain or frustration. A Gloriously Ordinary Life is about all of those parts too - it’s living and feeling it all, as human nature fundamentals.
Here’s what people said during the webinar about the Four Tests of Gloriously Ordinary Lives:
“They are lovely and real, and easy to remember. The first three are would I want it, would I say it, would I photograph it... not sure about a ‘would I’ for the fourth!? So important though.”
“Love these - would love to have a think about how we can use these in commissioning and evaluating tenders. More important than who can get the biggest words down.”
“I think they are fantastic… I love the simplicity of them.”
“It just feels human.”
“I LOVE the idea of it being an equation - you have to have BOTH mundane and heart sing”
So that was Day One - day one of ‘A Gloriously Ordinary Year’.
What is a ‘A Gloriously Ordinary Year’?
Over the next 364 days, I’ll be recording everything that’s happening at Gloriously Ordinary Lives and sharing it here first. Keep checking back, or find Gloriously Ordinary Lives on social media.
As we go, we’ll hear about great examples of creating Gloriously Ordinary Lives. We’ll figure out what it would take to get there, by learning from examples where improvement is needed.
Maybe you’ll spot something you hadn’t thought of. Maybe you’ll find inspiration for your next step towards creating Gloriously Ordinary Lives, for the people you support, or for yourself.
