"To understand the things that are at our door is the best preparation for understanding those things that lie beyond."
-- Hypatia
"Mankind is prone to seek an explanation of uncommon phenomena only, while the ordinary changes of nature, which are in themselves equally wonderful, are disregarded."
-- Almira Lincoln Phelps

Hi Robert…If you seek agreement, we have some. Yes. Still, it is fun to contribute
differences too. My comments follow these quotes from http://web.archive.org/web/20000115234126/www.ifsas.org/quotesci.htm :
It's okay to take things for granted, I'd say. If not, then you could not count on your bank account, your utilities, your heartbeat, your breathing. However, it is also wise to accept signals from these.

The article we are discussing was found with a search for Tich Naht Hanh, I don’t want to paraphrase it too much. It can be read and savored itself.
I would not wish to oversimplify it.

Another related observation is:
Right where we are sitting now, starting anywhere, we can find plenty of depth in what is closest to us and cultivate a capacity to enjoy and learn about these supposedly ordinary things.
Mike