Ep. 92 – Thriving in the Ordinary and Mundane – with Andrew from The Royal Path

Are You For Real or are You Going Through the Motions?

Andrew Funk, the host of the Royal Path Podcast, joins Perpend and I to talk about Thriving in the Ordinary and Mundane.

First a definition:

mun·dane:
1. lacking interest or excitement; dull.
2. of this earthly world rather than a heavenly or spiritual one.
“the boundaries of the mundane world”

“Are you for real or are you going through the motions?” – Kansas lyric from “Going Through the Motions” on the Drastic Measures album (1983).

The dog days of summer are still here. Not much is happening.

“Is your day just a reflection of the day before?
Don’t you ever stop and wonder if there’s something more?
Do you really mean to tell me that you’re satisfied?
Are you for real or are you going through the motions?”

I hate summer. I wish it away. I am always wishing for Fall and Winter to come. But by doing so I am not Being Present, living in the Now. I’m “wishing my life away.”

Living in the Ordinary Time

I’m not Roman Catholic, but in the RC liturgical calendar the time between Easter (Eastertide) and Christmas time (Christmastide) is called Ordinary Time.

Orthodoxy takes it deeper, with fasts and feasts during the period between Pentecost and Christmas. These are a moderating force to realign and living in the ordinary and mundane.

Andrew works in addiction Recovery, and one of the hardest things to get used to when recovering from addiction is going back to the boring, mundane, ordinary things in life.

Mundanity is a form of asceticism

Asceticism is self-discipline and avoidance of forms of indulgence, typically for religious reasons.

The routine of mundane, everyday life may be boring, but living in the mundane is a form of asceticism. It is a resetting on one’s self.

Life isn’t made to be a roller coaster of artificial highs, whether in entertainment, challenges, or artificial.

Take the Time to Go Deeper

People aren’t having real conversations, or listening to the other person when having conversations. They retreat into their phone and their own little world. Don’t be like that, resist retreating.

When someone has a mundane conversation, like the weather, do you tune them out? If you listen then they will often get to the real story and go deeper.

“Wow, the weather was hot Weds.”

Listen a little longer.

“I took the kids down to the creek. We found a washed out bank at the creek and we found some old arrowheads. I looked this arrowhead we found up online and it is a rare Munkers Creek knife”.

Stick with those boring conversations. Like tea ceremony or ancient ceremonies when meeting a traveler, they started with the lesser trade items to test the relationship, then as trust was built they moved on to the better items.

Start with the mundane, boring conversation. Be patient. Let the stories develop. As they are told, they will go deeper.

Get episodes early plus these Extras on Patreon:

More content and outtakes, including extras from this episode with Andrew.
The bonus episode with Cyprian where he explains the small banking collapse and why it can be a risk for your crypto – even if you have it in a custodial wallet. Plus – what is a Cargo Cult?
Listen in on our chicken workshop as we plan incubating, sharing eggs, and processing roosters. Plus our rotating rooster strategy to select for the best traits and to keep diversity in our flocks.

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