There's no place like home.

Hello my beautifully mundane friends. Sorry I've been away for so long. Sometimes a perfectly mundane world can become a little absurd, but I think things are finally starting to settle down and I can finally get back to embracing the little things in life. All the drama that I've been facing wasn't all bad though. It did help me realize that sometimes Big problems help us to realize how special the small things are.

One of the problems that I've been facing is that, because I transfered to Rutgers in the middle of the academic year, I somehow slipped through the cracks, and a lot of my paper work wasn't filed, so to the university it was as though I wasn't here. But according to Residence life I was here and without a lot of necessary forms being filled in, which equals big trouble for me. It got to the point where I was almost forced to leave my apartment. So I had to run all over campus and visit every office imaginable to try get things straitened out, and praise be to God,  I did.

As I was thinking the whole ordeal afterwards, It occurred to me. If I was forced to leave my apartment, where would I have gone? I know that I have a lot of friends that would be more than willing to take me in, and for that I am beyond grateful, but I also know the financial burden that one extra person in a household can create. From this experience I have learned the value of Home. Home is somewhere where you can always go, no matter what. You're never a guest at home. You belong there. Home is safe. People don't really think about home very much, or when they do, they're often wanting to get away from it. Home is often taken for granted. People assume that home will always will be there, and most of the time they're right, but sometimes, situations arise such that one day it's not. I guess the saying is true, "you don't know what you've got till it's gone".

I do consider myself lucky. I have places to go and friends who would welcome me into their homes. I can't imagine what life is like for those who don't have that luxury. But I do know the burden of not having a place to call home, always wondering "where do I go when I can't be here anymore?" "What can I do to ease the burden of the next person I stay with?" "What do I do if no one can take me in?" A lot of stress and  anxiety comes with these questions. Stress and anxiety only make problems worse. So, problems with finances, or school work become much bigger than they need to be because the issue of having a place to stay depends on the resolution of those problems.

So the next time you feel stressed out or weighed down by life, just go Home. Sit in your favorite spot, and remember that, there you are safe, you belong,  you can leave your problems at the door.  At home you can be in control, or you can give up all control and just be.

 And so you don't forget, what a blessing Home can be,  from time to time remind yourself that "There's no place like home"

The Mundane is so Tea-riffic!

Twas the night before Sunday and in my bedroom, My blankets were warm and snug as a womb... ok I don't think I can keep that up for 54 more lines. It as worth a shot. But it is Saturday night and pretty soon I will cuddle up in my blankets, and settle down for a long nighttime nap.

Right now I'm enjoying a nice cup of Earl Grey TAZO tea with hazelnut cream in one of my favorite mugs. With the winter weather finally blowing in, I've been drinking a lot of tea lately, and having the ever busy mind that I have, I've been thinking about tea almost as much as I've been drinking it. Tea is such a fascinating substance. It's so simple. It's the product of dried leaves and boiling water, and yet it has played such a significant role in countries all across the world. In Japan there is an entire ceremony dedicated to tea. In England, everybody whose anybody partakes in morning tea. Tea was one of the key components in the Revolutionary War here in the United States. In Arab culture, tea is the center of social gatherings and in Persian culture tea is a sign of hospitality. And when little a girl has her dolls and stuffed animals gathered around a table set with cups and saucers, she won't tell you she's having a coffee party or a cocoa party. No, almost always she will tell you that she and her toys are having a tea party, and if you want to attend you must dress appropriately.

Why has something as mundane as tea had such an influence on people all over the world, throughout history? When you really look at tea, that question is not at all difficult to answer. When you enjoy a cup of tea you are taking part in a tradition that spans hundreds maybe even thousands of years and almost every continent on the planet. Tea also has an almost magical power to serve every purpose. There are teas to wake you up, there are teas to help you sleep. When you're sad, tea brings you comfort. When you're full of emotion, tea calms you down. In the winter, tea keeps you warm, in the summer tea is iced and makes the perfect cool down drink. There are teas for every taste bud, there are sweet teas and bitter teas, fruit teas and spiced teas. Tea is the perfect drink to enjoy alone and also the prefect drink to share with friends. And tea benefits our health in numerous ways. It helps to prevent cancer, diabetes and heart disease. It boosts the immune system and promotes digestive health. All around, tea is pretty amazing. In my opinion tea beats alcohol, hands down. Why do healthy people drink alcohol? To feel good and have a good time. The way I see it, Tea can make you feel very good, warm and comfortable. And you can have a great time with your friends when you have them over for some tea. Plus with tea you will remember the good time that you had, You're less likely to make a fool of yourself and you can drink cup upon cup of tea and you won't have to deal with the not so pleasant aftermath the next morning. Tea is the perfect example of the many ways in which the mundane world can really be extraordinary. A simple mixture of dried leaves and water, influencing history, building relationships and protecting our health.

Let us raise our china cups and ceramic mugs to Tea. The choice beverage of the mundane.   

A Rainbow in a Black and White World

When I was a child, there were times when I was bored. Maybe I was sick or It was raining so I couldn't go outside to play. I'd seen all of my movies 47 times at least. Even my homework was done. When times like this came about, I would rummage through my toy box and find my coloring book and crayons. I could spend hours upon hours coloring picture after picture. A decade or so later, I realized that I still can. Yesterday was a very quiet day for me. I had no classes. I didn't particularly want to venture outside into the cold. I grew tired of watching movies. I had no new books to read. Boredom was setting in pretty quickly. I decided to organize my room a bit and while doing so I can across the coloring set that a good friend had given me for Christmas. I remembered the hours I spent coloring as a child, and so I sat down and began to color. Time flew by as I created flowers and rainbows and trees.

I had never given much thought to the mundane act coloring, until yesterday. Rather than books and movies that are are given to us, coloring is something that we give ourselves. Don't get me wrong, books and movies are quite enjoyable and I love many of them, myself. But sometimes I feel like they tell us that our lives are nothing special and that we must turn to the imagination of others to provide us with what we are lacking. It's important to remember that we can all create something beautiful. Coloring gives us proof of this. We the ordinary people can create something beautiful and uniquely our own with the investment of our time.

It is also my belief that coloring has a positive impact on personal well being. In coloring there are no set rules. You can create anything you want. You can stay inside the lines or you can completely ignore them. The sky doesn't have to be blue, grass doesn't have to be green. While coloring you can escape the pressure of the strict yet hectic world around you. You can forget everything and focus on what you want your world to be. Coloring also brings with it a concrete product of one's work. Many times in this world you work and work often not seeing any immediate results. Without seeing your progress or accomplishments, it's easy to become discouraged, but when yo mu color, you see a masterpiece taking form and it is complete when you decide it is. The finished product is right there before your eyes. Coloring helps yo u to remember that the work you do makes a difference.

Coloring, such a simple act, so simple in fact that we often forget the joy that it brought us, once upon a time. Here is your reminder. Always keep a coloring book and some crayons nearby, and the next time you're bored or stressed, pull them out sit down at your desk or even better, on the floor and color away. Create your one of a kind masterpiece. Let the world melt away and maybe discover a thing or two about yourself as well.

Here's to coloring. The art of the mundane.

All Boxed Up.

I never thought that I would be one to start a blog. I didn't think I would have anything to write about. I don't live an earth-shattering life. Then it occurred to me. Nowadays we want life to be extraordinary. We want our lives to play out like the movies, with car chases, whirlwind love affairs, and all those other things that just don't happen in day to day life. We've become dissatisfied and we always want more.  So I have decided that we need to celebrate the Mundane. Maybe if we see how extraordinary life is already, maybe we can learn to be happier with what we have. So Here it is. This is where I shall ramble about the little things in life.   I hope you enjoy what you read and I also  hope that what I write helps to open your eyes to the Extraordinary World of the Mundane. 

This is something that came to me at midnight tonight as I was enjoying a nice cup of tea and thinking about where my life has taken me thus far. 

 The Significance of Boxes

Have you ever stopped to think about the significant role that boxes play in our lives. They give us a place to keep those things that we can't stand to see but also can't bear to part with. Boxes are safe houses for our memories. They give us the assurance that our memories are real, but also the comfort of not facing those reminders of life's darkest moments. Boxes guard us from daily heartbreak. They protect us, while also understanding that sometimes we need to face our heartbreak, that's why boxes can be opened. But we can rest assured that when we have had our fill of pain, that the trusty box will once again seal it all away and stand guard until we need to face it again. There are many times in life that memories are too painful to face, but we know that we could never forgive ourselves if we tossed them away. We have all made this mistake. When we first encounter that pain we become impulsive and want to push it away forever, then as time passes we realize our mistake and wish with all our might that we could somehow retrieve those reminders. We learn from those mistakes and when heartbreak rears it's ugly head once again, we look to the ever faithful box to save us from making such rash mistakes and to protect us from painful memories until we are ready to face them once more. So let us raise our glasses to the box. The unsung hero of the Mundane