Nothing is more ordinary than the extraordinary.

I guess that makes sense since the word just means more ordinary right? Have you ever seen a travel brochure and thought to yourself “that’s so breathtaking”? I think we all have had at least a handful of moments like that. Fewer of us still have had the chance to visit those incredible places. I’m willing to bet that upon embarking on that cruse, hiking that trail, climbing that mountain, or eating in that quaint village it was fantastic, but not quite as breathtaking. When we find ourselves anyplace it often feels like it was always meant to be. This is despite the fact that these moments are often preceded by anxiety or trepidation. So . . . who cares? The reason I say all this is because we should always believe in our right to live and to belong. We have earned a great many things in our lives. Most people have to work fairly hard to be able to afford the time or money to take trips. We might feel that we don’t belong among the vacationers on the beach in Hawaii, but the only permission we need is our two feet planted firmly on the white sand. Of course this cuts both ways. It may be that the miraculous is actually ordinary, or conversely it could be that the ordinary is in fact miraculous! Across time and space, geographical boundaries and social norms, there are countless individuals who would find our existence beyond belief. Yet, here we are, as sure as the sun rose this morning. We have much to be thankful for, and we need only to dream to make more of our lives. I write this today because it’s St. Patrick’s Day. Years ago, I was sitting in a pub in the County Galway, Ireland. Growing up the son of Mexican Immigrants, and in dire poverty in the City of Detroit I woke up almost every morning for the 4 months I lived there that I had no business being where I was. It wasn’t exactly that I felt unworthy. God above knows how welcomed I felt by the wonderful people of Ireland. Rather, it was that “people like me don’t do things like this.” I am eternally grateful that I didn’t let my own self-fulfilling prophecies get in the way of one of the most incredible growing experiences of my life. My only wish is that everyone allows themselves to dare to dream, and to dream big. Just remember that when you achieve that dream, it’s no let down when you feel like your success was the only natural conclusion. It’s okay if it was always meant to be.