Ordinary Time

I believe there really is value in giving people the opportunity to just write for writing's sake.

Tuesday, June 3 2025

I’ve already written a bit about Jan Morris and her writing career, and how she has provided me with some inspiration to embark on this particular project, my daily Thought Diary.

Morris’ musings can be incredibly mundane, even though she has led the most extraordinary life. For example, she was on the Hillary expedition, and was responsible for dashing back to civilization to send the world the news that Norgay and Hillary had been successful in summiting Everest. And that is just one small part of her incredible life story.

But she also writes about the most ordinary things. She writes about ‘ordinary time’.

I also recently read another author, Annie B. Jones, who just published Ordinary Time: Lessons Learned While Staying Put – a biographical exploration of the unexpected joys of a quiet life. I became aware of this book because I listened to her book podcast, From the Front Porch.

I love that I live in a world where there is space for a small-town bookstore owner to publish a book about her very ordinary life. I love that I live in a world where I can easily find and consume this book which is a celebration of life, right where we are.

Jones also inspired me to start this project, my substack The Travel Paradox. When I finished her book on April 26, 2025, I wrote these words in my book journal:

I do believe giving a voice to a wide range of experiences (including ‘ordinary’ ones) is a good thing. I’m also starting to believe there really is value in giving people the opportunity to just write for writing’s sake.

I’m thinking of adopting this practice for myself as I try to understand all that I’ve seen and experienced on my travels.

And I’m thankful that Annie was given a book contract so that she could just write, because she clearly loves it.

Wouldn’t it be a lovely world if more of us could do what we love?

I’ll never spend time reporting on mountain climbing expeditions. I’ll never own a bookstore. But I am happy to share my travel experiences and my circuitous mental journey as I try to sort out what it all means. Maybe there are a few people out there who might actually find that interesting.