Tools for Transformation Tuesday: Celebrate the Mundane

Over the long holiday weekend my husband and I escaped to Portland Maine. After a few days of strolling the charming cobblestone streets and indulging in the city's innovative food scene, we ventured by ferry to a nearby island for a change of scenery. Almost immediately upon arriving, we noticed a small house advertised as the Umbrella Cover Museum. Intrigued and amused, we entered the small front room, where we were greeted by the enthusiastic proprietor. She explained how the museum had come to be and proudly referenced her Guinness World Record for the largest recognized collection of umbrella covers. As we circled the small, crowded room, she talked with great sincerity about the political significance of certain covers the the origins of others that had been sent by notable figures around the world. Throughout her explanation, I kept trying to catch my husband's eye to ask (silently, of course), "Is she serious?"

Before stepping away to let us continue to browse at our own pace, the proprietor drew our attention to her mission statement:

The Umbrella Cover Museum is dedicated to the appreciation of the mundane in everyday life. It is about finding wonder and beauty in the simplest of things, and about knowing that there is always a story behind the cover.

I was immediately heartened by the sentiment and impressed by the lengths to which she had gone to make this simple, but important point. We all move through seemingly unremarkable days surrounded by apparently mundane objects, but even something as ordinary as an umbrella cover can be a source of inspiration and joy. What can you celebrate today?