If your daily life seems poor, do not blame it; blame yourself, tell yourself that you are not poet enough to call forth its riches; for to the creator there is no poverty and no poor indifferent place. – Rainer Maria Rilke

We all have to live with the mundane. These are the daily chores of being alive, whether it’s grocery shopping, cleaning the house, or going to the dentist. There’s no way to get around it, we just have to get down to it. Where we get hung up is in sorting through all the moments of our lives and judging which ones are better or worthier of our gratitude and delight. We live for time spent on the beach or in a kayak, the lazy moments of a sleepy afternoon in a hammock or traveling to another country. We look for our freedom in these moments we deem more meaningful while the rest of the time we stay chained or feel drained to all the things we think we are stuck doing.

But the truth is the gifts of meaning and beauty and freedom are presented to us at every step. It’s up to us to be on the lookout for all the mini-miracles and relish them as they come. In order to do this we need to cultivate and redirect our approach to how we do life. The routines of living aren’t meant to keep us bound or dragged down. There is freedom all around us if we just begin to shift our attitude and choose to love the moment that’s right in front of us instead of just trying to get through it.

Rushing through the everyday moments of our lives to get to the “good” stuff robs us of a life well lived. We miss out on the endless gifts life has to offer when we’re running on autopilot or stuck in the rut of doing what we think we have to do to and in order to get to what we actually want to do. It’s like having to eat our peas before we get our dessert all over again. But judging certain things or tasks as inferior means we miss the small, beautiful moments of our lives that go on around us all the time. We ignore the wait in line for coffee to get to the hike in the woods. We get irritated cleaning up after dinner so we can get to a glass of wine on the deck. But all of these moments matter because every one of them is a part of our life’s journey.

Wishing for the facts of our lives to be different than what they are or projecting an ideal situation somewhere in the distant future steals the life that is ours to live right here and now. And there we find ourselves thick in the dilemma. The truth is it’s our lack of insight, gratitude, and appreciation for life that keeps us chained to the drudgery of our routines. Thankfully turning it around doesn’t have to be daunting. A fresh approach or simply being more present in the tasks that must get done can completely change us inside and out.

Taking our freedom back comes in the details. It’s taking time to notice the fiery sunset or relishing the delectable smells of dinner cooking in the oven. That’s because every moment we live as fully and as aware as possible is a moment we’ve made the most of, and that makes all the difference. We’re not wasting our time waiting for something better to come around or zoning out to merely pass the time and missing out on our lives altogether.

Noticing the ordinary moments like bubble rainbows as we do dishes or the wild wind as a summer storm whips up can transport us if we let them. For me listening to clothes in the dryer always relaxes me and makes me nostalgic. It reminds me of my childhood home in California and how warm and cozy my mother always made it. Making these connections and noticing the small everyday moments is how we begin filling our lives with more of the unexpected and the downright delightful. It’s how we begin to live in the beauty of now rather than what could be or what we wish was. Wanting to be somewhere else or doing something else only keeps us sidetracked and dejected, always searching and never arriving.

Appreciating our own here and now with deep love and reverence is a sure path to freedom. The solution hinges on our mindset and how we approach every right now. Einstein said you either believe everything is a miracle or nothing is. In the end it’s always our choice. It’s important to remember living is reciprocal, what we give we get. Wherever you are and with whatever you have start looking for the small miracles hiding in plain sight as your everyday life. That’s how we set ourselves free from the routine.

And the truth is, there is nothing routine about our precious lives.

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