Thursday, August 4, 2011

Ralph Waldo Emerson Trust 30 Challenge: Ordinary Isn't.

This Trust 30 prompt is from Patti Digh, based on this quote from Master Emerson:
Good and bad are but names very readily transferable to that or this; the only right is what is after my constitution, the only wrong what is against it.
Good, bad, simple, complex, extraordinary, commonplace: These are merely words.  These words can be self-descriptive and at the same time self-limiting. By striving to be the smartest kid in class I ignore day to day consistency.  It is day to day that is superb but greatness which is merely mundane.

Get Your Head Out Of The Locker Room.
Taking a quick peak in the gym locker room and making a comparison: biceps, quads, lats, perhaps something non-musculature.  I know it's a guy thing, perhaps it runs in the other locker room, too. "Wow, does he have a license for that thing? Walking around, showing off. Does anyone care about his new Jag? Still, if I had me one of those..." Such thought is an absolute waste of time. I am gifted with what I have and it's the same for everyone else. Someone will always have stronger, bigger, faster, better. It's up to me to achieve with my list of talents. When size envy or speed doubt start to take hold remember: When one of our 5 senses is weak or non-functioning, the remaining senses grow stronger in order to compensate.

Life Is A Movie. Today, Merely A Snapshot.
It's so easy to consider all the things I have yet to achieve. After all, when my to-do list is completely to-done, I am to-done also. Wanting to gain a new skill after mastering the last task is a good thing. Still, I'm not what I'm striving for, I'm what I am. The list of what I want to accomplish will usually be much longer than the list of what I have completed. Yet, it's what I have already accomplished that is my go-to list for what I want to achieve. Until I run out of tomorrows I may get there yet, today.

I'm Not The First. That's No Big Deal.
In this day and age, it's commonly understood that those we choose for a life partner have a history that precedes the joint relationship. The exception is marrying a blood relative in which case stop reading, we can't find common ground. It's understandable to be slightly uncomfortable with the previous history of a life partner. Still, we move forward based on on our unique perspective and how we will create a new history moving into the future. The same applies to any other project. It's not important that someone else has already completed the project, it's what we bring to the project in it's current iteration that is significant. Don't want to do or write  date something that's already been done or written? That's as ludicrous as not dating someone because they've already been on a date.
Ordinary or Special?
Each morning everyone wakes up, puts feet on the floor and rises to begin a new day. The moment immediately before gaining consciousness, nothing matters. Who I'm not, where I'm not going or what has been completed before me is inconsequential. What is critical is taking my skill set and my history and using it to perfect the tasks in front of me. Everyone faces the same challenge, just another ordinary day. It's that moment, waking with a clean slate that makes the day special. Special isn't ordinary.

No comments:

Post a Comment