What a difference a (Tues)day makes

We're on a little hiatus from Tuesdays Unwrapped right now, as you may have noticed. At first I was a little sad, because Tuesdays had become a sort of special event for me. Something I looked forward to every week, something that gave me that zany night-before-Christmas feeling every Monday when I went to sleep. But I've come to appreciate the break because it has given me the chance to do some reflecting on what these Tuesdays have meant. Over the summer, I participated for a period of about nine weeks, and with the space to look back, I can see that it's done something, well, a little bit strange to me.

See, this is what a normal Tuesday (and following days as I play catch up) looks like: I visit the blogs of the other Unwrappers, and they visit mine, and we respond to one another, and together we help each other to see the mundane and ordinary in new and fruitful ways. Well, it turns out something happens when you do that, and I'm not just talking about a jump in blog hits. You see, when you spend time not only thinking about the good things around you but encouraging others to do the same, it somehow becomes that much harder to say mean or discouraging things. For example. A few weeks ago, I read a review of a celebrity-authored novel, and the review was so glitteringly, hilariously sharp that I wanted to incorporate it into my (long-dormant) Critical Eviscerations series, which highlighted the funniest reviews of bad movies. I wrote a blurb picking out the pithiest parts of the review, but when I got to the part where I was supposed to hit the Publish button, I just couldn't do it. Something in me recoiled at the thought of putting out something so negative and--let's face it--mean-spirited, especially when I had spent the whole morning thoughtfully engaging with and encouraging others to find life's hidden, precious beauties. Without me knowing it, my heart had changed.

I guess this is one of the reasons Paul wrote this passage to the Philippians:

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things.

On Tuesdays, I've been training myself to see the pure and lovely and praiseworthy things, even when they come in ostensibly unappealing packages. I can see how the training is starting to take root--and I like it.

I'm not a big blog question-asker, but I'd like to hear from you on this topic--if you've been participating in Tuesdays Unwrapped, or commenting, or even if you've just been quietly reading along. Please tell me, how have Tuesdays made a difference for you?

* * *

The lovely Emily at Chatting at the Sky hosts a tradition called Tuesdays Unwrapped, in which she invites her readers to appreciate small, wonderful things. It's about finding something special in the ordinary things around you, and pressing the pause button in order to reflect on it, to take it in. Here's the link to my previous unwrappings.