Is Extraordinariness Overrated?
Most individuals strive to add meaning and value to their lives. To many, this can be achieved through labels and/or actions. Each and every one of us, to some degree, longs to make an imprint on the world, and to be deemed extraordinary in some way or another. Dreaming in metaphors, some long for that day of praise and recognition. As people, we love those omnious labels and events, and many wear them as a badge to define who they are. These labels and events may take many forms, such as hitting the lotto, having our book published, winning a Pulitzer prize (definitely overrated), becoming head of a company, selling a piece of our art, or acquiring that dream job. These type of activites can make each of us feel extraordinary, so we think.
But has anyone longed to be ordinary? Does the tedium of daily life, which each one of us encounters measure up to something oof significant value? What about making that ordinary dinner, cleaning our home, taking our children to school, or talking on and on about washing products and household cleansers. Why not conclude that these ordinary activism have great value of their own, and are sometimes that which can make an ordinary life extraordinary?
My point is a rather simple one. (you probably do not believe me.) But many of us can be happy, joyful and have true freedom if we begin to appreciate those aspects of our lives that make us just plain Jane or dull Bob. What is the big deal about extraordinariness anyway?
That being said, I am very happy lately since I have been writing on this blog. Just the IDEA of having someone read what I have written has been exhilarating! It is possible that if I wrote this only for myself and no one actually read it, the words would still be there (mine on paper) and have meaning. You see, my intent is to share my writing with others. Beforehand, I was a true closet writer, in every sense of the word, only allowing the occasional voyeur to have a look at my thoughts on paper. It was as if I was revealing the most intimate parts of my being, like running out in the middle of the street stark naked for all to see. Now, I realiz that the art of writing, and the act of sharing what I have to say are not so extraordinary afterall!
Thank you for your minds.
But has anyone longed to be ordinary? Does the tedium of daily life, which each one of us encounters measure up to something oof significant value? What about making that ordinary dinner, cleaning our home, taking our children to school, or talking on and on about washing products and household cleansers. Why not conclude that these ordinary activism have great value of their own, and are sometimes that which can make an ordinary life extraordinary?
My point is a rather simple one. (you probably do not believe me.) But many of us can be happy, joyful and have true freedom if we begin to appreciate those aspects of our lives that make us just plain Jane or dull Bob. What is the big deal about extraordinariness anyway?
That being said, I am very happy lately since I have been writing on this blog. Just the IDEA of having someone read what I have written has been exhilarating! It is possible that if I wrote this only for myself and no one actually read it, the words would still be there (mine on paper) and have meaning. You see, my intent is to share my writing with others. Beforehand, I was a true closet writer, in every sense of the word, only allowing the occasional voyeur to have a look at my thoughts on paper. It was as if I was revealing the most intimate parts of my being, like running out in the middle of the street stark naked for all to see. Now, I realiz that the art of writing, and the act of sharing what I have to say are not so extraordinary afterall!
Thank you for your minds.
6 Comments:
I would LOVE to be living an ordinary life right now. My current career puts me in the news flow and in contact with some of the news makers of the day. While I am a no-name, behind-the-scenes cog in the machinery, my day job has become my 24/7 job. Because I deal with the news business, events and deadlines don't stop at 5:30pm...and they don't take the weekends off. I really enjoy what I do...but I would love to take a day of vacation to go to the zoo with my son's kindergarten class, and not be called multiple times to take care of a client issue. I would have loved to have just finished the day by picking up my kids and going home to work on homework and put in a load of laundry instead of hauling them to my office to draw on my wall-sized white board while I calmed the fears of nervous clients and put news releases out on a client's achievements. Those work things are worthwhile, and I love them...but I what I would really savor is a 'normal' day of 'normal' things with my sweet kids. As it is, I will be spending Mother's Day weekend overseeing a 'Mother's Day' event while my family sits at home waiting for Mom to come home.
So yes, Barb...your post today has struck a nerve with me. (I should never write when I am emotional! ha ha)...but ordinary sounds quite extraordinary to me today.
A beautiful commentary. I can't agree more with you.
I came across this quote by Sean Penn tonight, and thought it fit here...
"You're never going to have better music than Tchaikovsky. We're liberated from being better. I'm not going to have a better day, a more magical moment, than the first time I heard my daughter giggle. Tomorrow's not going to be better than that. So why invest in better? If God spoke to me right now and told me that I would never have greater stimuli than I have right now, that wouldn't worry me. It's all about how you celebrate the stimuli you have."
wilsonian,
What beautiful words...I could not agree more. Thank you for sharing them. I would take issue, however, with the issue that there is better music than that of Tchaikovsky
Just a quick HI to the Pope! Glad to see you here, taking some time out of your busy schedule to pop in and offer some thoughts!
This topic hits home to me. Several years ago, a friend of mine insisted that I read a book on this very topic. The book is called "Wisdom Distilled From The Daily" and is written by Joan Chittister. She is a wonderful writer, and the book is based on the Benedictine way of life (Joan's a nun!). Joan is way to the left of most people's ideas of what a nun would be.
Thanks again for a wonderful topic. I frankly love and cherish what most folks would consider 'ordinary' days!
Some great thoughts on this post.
I wanted to share something else I thought about regarding extraordinariness and ordinariness.
Many years ago, I can remember a time when I used to think of someone I knew as extraordinary. This claim was based upon all accomplishments, labels, ambitions, etc. What was not known to me at the time, was that the individual turned out to be a very dishonest and untrustworthy person. Once I was willing to see this in a true light, all of a sudden, he became even less than an ordinary person: someone who was sheepish, scared and dishonest with everyone around him. I lost all respect for him as a person. As I was thinking about this post,and your comments, it occurred to me, how great it would have been had he just been an ordinary guy.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home