By subscribing to Inspiring Quotes you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Sometimes we find ourselves feeling so comfortable that we take the most basic aspects of life for granted. Novelist and essayist Cynthia Ozick tackled this feeling in her 1984 essay, "The Riddle of the Ordinary." In it, she pointed out the paradoxical way we experience extraordinary versus ordinary things: "The Extraordinary does not let you walk away and shrug your shoulders. But the Ordinary is a much harder case," she wrote. "In the first place, by making itself so noticeable — it is around us all the time — the Ordinary has got itself in bad fix with us: we hardly ever notice it." Ozick’s observation reminds us to treat everything — including the ordinary things — with gratitude.

What It Means To Be a Leader, According to U.S. Presidents

14 Quotes To Celebrate Aquarians

12 Quotes on What Makes a Society Strong

15 Quotes To Send To Long-Distance Friends

13 Motivating Quotes for When You’re Feeling Overwhelmed

15 Quotes To Remind You To Stop and Smell the Flowers

12 of the Funniest Quotes From Great Novels

The Funniest Literary One-Liners

16 Instantly Recognizable Song Lyrics

11 Quotes From the Biggest Movies of 2023

How Crafting Can Transform Your Life, in Quotes