Absolutely (Un)Remarkable

At different points in my life I have been in the throes of something that has completely floored me and made me contemplate my life in a way that I'd never really considered before. These "somethings" have been small things, big things, medium things. At some point during my revelations related to these somethings I've realized that not only is my life profoundly affected and ultimately altered by this thing that's happening, but also that countless other people are just as profoundly affected by the very same thing but in a way that is totally unique to them.

This seems to make the something itself absolutely (un)remarkable. It's remarkable to me because it's happening to me and it's mine, but it's unremarkable to everyone else because it's happened to so many others and been theirs, as well.

Take, for example, pregnancy. It is at once ultimately personal and intimate while being mundane and typical. This concept amazes me. For me, bringing this child into the world is the most profound thing I have ever done with my life. It changes everything. It makes me undoubtedly a woman and takes me a giant step out of the realm of girlhood. It makes my body a true vessel. It makes me a parent. It makes my husband a father. It joins us together in a way that is more permanent than our marriage.

And yet? It is so very commonplace. It is the most usual thing. Pregnancy is the norm. By this I mean that babies are born every day to women all over the world. These individual miracles and intimate moments instantly become part of the global statistic and the ranks of typical childbirth rates are joined by thousands each day. Remarkable and unremarkable.

This is my latest introspection. What my body is doing right now is nothing short of amazing and nothing more than common all at the same time. I am not doing a single thing that someone else hasn't already done today, this week, this month, this year, this decade, this century, this millennium. And yet it does not diminish my experience in the slightest. I will continue to be awestruck and moved by every moment.