31 Jul 2019 · 6 min
Sally Z reflects on Rob Bell's insight that divine magic lives in everyday moments, not grand stages. Most people miss the drama and wonder in ordinary work and routines because they chase significance elsewhere. Pause and notice what's already there: the scent of roses, the sky, your own walk.
Hello, my movers! You can, as you can probably hear right now, I am a little out of breath because I'm out on a walk. Maybe you can hear the birds singing. Oh, I wish you could smell what I'm smelling right now. Roses, beautiful flowers. It is so beautiful out, and I'm out on my morning walk, and I was listening to Rob Bell. If you know me, then you know I'm a Rob Bell fan. I had him on the show a few years ago, and it was just like, oh, Rob Bell, so brilliant. And I've heard about him as a speaker. I got to— I've seen him speak once, and it was so cool. And I've heard other people talk about him speaking as this, like, transformative, magical thing. So as a communicator, I just really admire him. And he was talking about— on this little podcast, and I love— he just, like, presses go kind of like this. And he was talking about this power that he's just sort of been given, that other people have given to him with the title— the title of pastor— and how many stages he's been on with the perfect lighting and the music and this sort of divine— I use that word intentionally, even outside of a God context, but just this innate, you, you talk, we will listen because of the position that you have been given, that we give to you. He was not saying that he sees himself this way, but just that other people see him that way. And for so many years, people coming up to him and saying, well, you're a pastor, but I'm just a— I'm just a mom, I'm just a carpenter, I'm just a lowly fill-in-the-blank, just this. And for some people, that distinction gives them more power as the one up in front. And I kind of had this moment because Rob Bell is saying, "No, no, no. The divine, the magic, the beauty is in your everyday stories." Giving this to me, it's unearned, but You also can take up that same space. And it just reminded me of so many conversations I've been having with people as they try and dig into that space in themselves and say, "Whoa, what stories do I have? I haven't lived that interesting of a life." and I just fundamentally disagree. There's so much drama and so much that's interesting in our everyday, but we just don't often see it because we think to ourselves, I'm just, I'm just running this nonprofit. I'm just I'm just doing this workshop, and it's just 10 minutes, and just fill in the blank, and missing out on all the magic in the everyday. Seeing it. I'm not always good at seeing it either. Too busy. Gross. So I'm just taking this walk and breathing and looking at this unbelievably beautiful blue sky. I'm thinking about the magic in everyday, if we can see it. That's big stage or no, lights or no, the perfect story, the most adventurous life or no. Who decides? Get to. It's adventure every day. We just have to pay attention. This moved me today. Wanted to share. Talk to you soon. Bye.
