What a great word. If I hear or read that word I instantly feel a decrease in tension and anxiety as well as a boost in excitement and motivation. I never fully realized how important autonomy is to me until last semester, in a "Leisure in Contemporary Society" class. (Which was, by the way, not even one tenth as fun, easy, or interesting as it sounds) But, nonetheless we talked a lot in that class about autotelic experiences and how leisure must intrinsically motivated in order to be truly satisfying and rewarding.
It was of course, at this point that I pointed out the flaws in a traditional grading system to my teacher, and how the extrinsic devices often used to "motivate" students rob schooling of the truly rewarding educational experiences that could much more often result. I was just being snarky, as I am increasingly more often prone to do in academic settings, but she actually ended up agreeing with me, but then of course said there was nothing that could be done to fix it. I am much more convinced that nothing will be done, even though it could, but certainly not without sacrificing a great deal of control, which is too highly valued by the earth-type powers that be to give up lightly.
But I don't mean to drill into the evils of grading or anything in this post, I only brought it up because of how I was affected recently by an assignment for my business communications class. I was recently assigned to start and write weekly in a blog, something I was going to try to get back into anyway now that the summer is over and I am getting back into the swing of things. So at first I was excited that this assignment lined up perfectly with my current plans, but when my break between classes came, I felt no desire to blog in order to fulfill the requirements of a homework assignment. Instead I determined to start a new blog and paste previous posts from this blog each week.
You might be thinking at this point that I have serious issues with authority, and you might be right. The second I am told to do something, it often becomes repulsive to me. There is one exception to this rule, and that is if I feel like the person telling me to do something loves me and has my best interests at heart. Whether or not they actually have my best interests at heart does not matter. It is my perception of their motives that influences my behavior. I have never had a problem being told what to do by God, my parents, siblings, or loving church leaders, teachers, or even managers.
As usual, I'm not sure where I am going with this. I am not convinced that it is a bad thing that I feel this way or not. It is just my opinion that we could all have a lot more meaningful and satisfying experiences if we find things that we love for their own sakes and do them. Or even of we find things that we consider valuable, albeit lacking in entertainment value and push through on our own without needing to be pushed. Would the structure of society collapse entirely if there was a little less constraint, force, and compulsion, and a little more persuasion, long-suffering, and love without guile? I for one think it would be worth the risk to find out.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Monday, April 9, 2012
In Response to "Extraordinary"...
If you read my post on being extraordinary awhile ago, I found a quote that I appreciated and considered a good follow-up...
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Saturday, March 24, 2012
The Hunger Games
I have a lot of thoughts I want to try to put into coherent sentences here, so bear with me if it gets jumbled...
I, along with most of the rest of the world saw "The Hunger Games" movie this weekend. I also read the books a while ago, and while this is not intended to be a movie review, I will say that for good or ill, the movie was very true to the book. I imagine that the only people I know who have not read the book or seen the movie, will likely be comprised of the majority of the people who read this blog. I don't want to give plot synopsis or anything, so if you don't know what the Hunger Games is, read the plot summary online somewhere, and come back and finish this post.
First off: I do not recommend this movie, or the books to most people, mostly due to the intensely graphic and disturbing nature of them. However, I have spent quite a bit of time pondering what the author was trying to accomplish by writing them, (as I believe that every author or director has a message they want to get across, in addition to the entertainment value itself) and I definitely think the underlying philosophies of the book/movie deserve some attention.
The first of these several commentaries on society is extremely well-integrated and somewhat ironic. The people in the book who enjoy watching the hunger games are the vain, selfish, prideful, disconnected, over-indulgent, ignorant, thoughtless, idle members of "The Capitol." The bad guys are the ones who really like the hunger games for their entertainment. I think that Suzanne Collins thought it necessary to have the gladiator figures in her book be children. Just like Lord of the Flies, I think it was a way to kind of give people a shock to their system, because we are already used to watching adults kill each other, we would not give that a second thought. But when it is kids, just maybe some people will stop and think: "This is bad, this is a problem that we enjoy reading these so much." The fact that the books and movie are so successful begs the question: "Is our society so similar to that of the Capitol, that we enjoy watching people kill each other for entertainment?" That is the irony, the books entertain by describing horrific events, and in the books, the ones entertained by them are the bad guys. When the author was asked what she hoped readers would come away with after reading the books were questions about how elements of the book might be relevant in their own lives, and if they're disturbing, what they might do about them. There are many elements that might be relevant to life, but I pose this question to you: "Did you, as I did, consider the books and/or movie to be entertaining?" If so, you might want to think about why you were not more disturbed by it. My wife left the theater upset, surprised that so many people enjoyed it so much. As one who enjoyed it, her comment made me realize that I am too quick to desensitize myself to portrayals of death and suffering. I was saddened that I did not share her disgust right off the bat. After all, if we are not disgusted at children brutally killing one another, what are we disgusted by?
I will try to not get to political in this next section, but there is another similar theme that Collins pointed out as a catalyst for the hunger games. She explains the Greek themes of the story, Katniss as a modern day Theseus, and the Roman themes of the Capitol and the gladiators, and how her knowledge of those stories shaped the idea, but she said that it "was channel surfing between reality TV programming and actual war coverage when Katniss’s story came to [her]. One night [she's] sitting there flipping around and on one channel there’s a group of young people competing for, I don’t know, money maybe? And on the next, there’s a group of young people fighting an actual war. And [she] was tired, and the lines began to blur in this very unsettling way, and [she] thought of this story."
Thought provoking, no? How has reality TV and movies shaped our view of the actual world? I think that many people have a much more difficult time discerning between reality and fantasy when both come from the same source (tv). We see people die and suffer so often that we have to desensitize ourselves or else we'd have a mental breakdown. The problem is, when we see actual people dying, we have already become disconnected mentally, and then it just seems less real. Over a hundred thousand people have died as a result of the Iraq "war" and many of those people are no older than the kids in the hunger games. A line from the movie stood out to me, I think it was Gale, who was pointing out the depravity of the games and said something along the lines of how sick it is that people watch it and cheer for their favorites when they kill someone, and cry when their favorites die. I really think this is more similar to what is going on overseas than most people would like to think. When a US soldier dies, many people express remorse, and rightly so. But when you find out an Iraqi dies, or even a hundred Iraqis, people probably take another bite of cereal and keep waiting until the weather comes on.
I fear that it has become too easy for us to dismiss these atrocities. To say "well, that's sad, but there are causalities to every war." I have heard that statement several times recently while trying to explain to people why we should bring the troops home, but now I am getting political and I apologize. I better wrap this up before I start preaching about Ron Paul...
Final thoughts. If you had to identify with someone in the hunger games who would it be and why? Are you like anyone from district 12? Starving, oppressed, downtrodden, and impoverished, powerless to do anything about it or stand up to those in charge? Are you like someone from District 1? Affluent, and you aspire to the spotlight, to be the champion of the games and train hard for it so that you can be better than everyone else and gain riches, fame and glory? [Side note: It is worth noting that the winners are often worse off than the losers, typified by Haymitch who survives but lives a miserable life as an alcoholic haunted by visions of the past. Even the Katniss and Peeta, whose physical wounds are mostly (and quickly) healed, never fully recover from the emotional/mental scarring that took place during the books.]Or maybe a Capitol citizen? You enjoy the voyeuristic thrill of watching people being humiliated, or brought to tears, or suffering physically, but only from a distance, fostering a "fascination of the abomination" and relishing so much in tragedy and drama that when the real thing is presented to you it lacks appropriate impact?
These are hard questions, and I think overlooking them robs the series of its real power. Think what you want, but I choose to give her the benefit of the doubt and believe that rather than perpetuating the problem of desensitization to violence, poverty, and oppression, Suzzanne Collins is trying to wake us up to those very issues. I think she uses kids on purpose because that is the only way she could speak the message loud enough. I hope that we are not all too deaf to hear it. Hopefully we can all think of these books as a wake up call, rather than "kind of disturbing, but really entertaining if you don't think too much about it." (A typical comment that I have heard in regards to the books/movie, btw)
My final words on the matter: Think about it.
First off: I do not recommend this movie, or the books to most people, mostly due to the intensely graphic and disturbing nature of them. However, I have spent quite a bit of time pondering what the author was trying to accomplish by writing them, (as I believe that every author or director has a message they want to get across, in addition to the entertainment value itself) and I definitely think the underlying philosophies of the book/movie deserve some attention.
The first of these several commentaries on society is extremely well-integrated and somewhat ironic. The people in the book who enjoy watching the hunger games are the vain, selfish, prideful, disconnected, over-indulgent, ignorant, thoughtless, idle members of "The Capitol." The bad guys are the ones who really like the hunger games for their entertainment. I think that Suzanne Collins thought it necessary to have the gladiator figures in her book be children. Just like Lord of the Flies, I think it was a way to kind of give people a shock to their system, because we are already used to watching adults kill each other, we would not give that a second thought. But when it is kids, just maybe some people will stop and think: "This is bad, this is a problem that we enjoy reading these so much." The fact that the books and movie are so successful begs the question: "Is our society so similar to that of the Capitol, that we enjoy watching people kill each other for entertainment?" That is the irony, the books entertain by describing horrific events, and in the books, the ones entertained by them are the bad guys. When the author was asked what she hoped readers would come away with after reading the books were questions about how elements of the book might be relevant in their own lives, and if they're disturbing, what they might do about them. There are many elements that might be relevant to life, but I pose this question to you: "Did you, as I did, consider the books and/or movie to be entertaining?" If so, you might want to think about why you were not more disturbed by it. My wife left the theater upset, surprised that so many people enjoyed it so much. As one who enjoyed it, her comment made me realize that I am too quick to desensitize myself to portrayals of death and suffering. I was saddened that I did not share her disgust right off the bat. After all, if we are not disgusted at children brutally killing one another, what are we disgusted by?
I will try to not get to political in this next section, but there is another similar theme that Collins pointed out as a catalyst for the hunger games. She explains the Greek themes of the story, Katniss as a modern day Theseus, and the Roman themes of the Capitol and the gladiators, and how her knowledge of those stories shaped the idea, but she said that it "was channel surfing between reality TV programming and actual war coverage when Katniss’s story came to [her]. One night [she's] sitting there flipping around and on one channel there’s a group of young people competing for, I don’t know, money maybe? And on the next, there’s a group of young people fighting an actual war. And [she] was tired, and the lines began to blur in this very unsettling way, and [she] thought of this story."
Thought provoking, no? How has reality TV and movies shaped our view of the actual world? I think that many people have a much more difficult time discerning between reality and fantasy when both come from the same source (tv). We see people die and suffer so often that we have to desensitize ourselves or else we'd have a mental breakdown. The problem is, when we see actual people dying, we have already become disconnected mentally, and then it just seems less real. Over a hundred thousand people have died as a result of the Iraq "war" and many of those people are no older than the kids in the hunger games. A line from the movie stood out to me, I think it was Gale, who was pointing out the depravity of the games and said something along the lines of how sick it is that people watch it and cheer for their favorites when they kill someone, and cry when their favorites die. I really think this is more similar to what is going on overseas than most people would like to think. When a US soldier dies, many people express remorse, and rightly so. But when you find out an Iraqi dies, or even a hundred Iraqis, people probably take another bite of cereal and keep waiting until the weather comes on.
I fear that it has become too easy for us to dismiss these atrocities. To say "well, that's sad, but there are causalities to every war." I have heard that statement several times recently while trying to explain to people why we should bring the troops home, but now I am getting political and I apologize. I better wrap this up before I start preaching about Ron Paul...
Final thoughts. If you had to identify with someone in the hunger games who would it be and why? Are you like anyone from district 12? Starving, oppressed, downtrodden, and impoverished, powerless to do anything about it or stand up to those in charge? Are you like someone from District 1? Affluent, and you aspire to the spotlight, to be the champion of the games and train hard for it so that you can be better than everyone else and gain riches, fame and glory? [Side note: It is worth noting that the winners are often worse off than the losers, typified by Haymitch who survives but lives a miserable life as an alcoholic haunted by visions of the past. Even the Katniss and Peeta, whose physical wounds are mostly (and quickly) healed, never fully recover from the emotional/mental scarring that took place during the books.]Or maybe a Capitol citizen? You enjoy the voyeuristic thrill of watching people being humiliated, or brought to tears, or suffering physically, but only from a distance, fostering a "fascination of the abomination" and relishing so much in tragedy and drama that when the real thing is presented to you it lacks appropriate impact?
These are hard questions, and I think overlooking them robs the series of its real power. Think what you want, but I choose to give her the benefit of the doubt and believe that rather than perpetuating the problem of desensitization to violence, poverty, and oppression, Suzzanne Collins is trying to wake us up to those very issues. I think she uses kids on purpose because that is the only way she could speak the message loud enough. I hope that we are not all too deaf to hear it. Hopefully we can all think of these books as a wake up call, rather than "kind of disturbing, but really entertaining if you don't think too much about it." (A typical comment that I have heard in regards to the books/movie, btw)
My final words on the matter: Think about it.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Marianne
Of all of the attributes and traits that one can posses or develop, I don't think there are many that would argue that love/charity reigns supreme. When you get more, all other positive attributes increase concurrently, and we know that even though all things will pass away, charity will not, nor will it ever fail. So, for many years now, I have been trying to have more charity. I imagine that this is a goal that is ambiguity enough and common enough that many people have and do share this goal, along with the feeling that it is difficult to make much progress with it. I could be wrong.
How do you love people more? It is hard to find an answer that fits for many people. And no, I am not talking about people you already love, or people you serve regularly, etc. I mean people in general. All of them, everywhere. Those are the ones I don't know how to love. And it was not until a few months ago that I made progress in understanding how to accomplish my goal of love and charity for everyone. And it may surprise you that the answer was not just praying to be filled with it. I have done that for years, and I still don't feel any more loving. The thought occurred to me that I could not love someone I didn't know, or more precisely, people whom I didn't know anything about.
Whether or not this was the case, it opened up my mind to a new solution. I remember sitting in the steam room (or was it the sauna?) when the other guy in the room with me started making friendly conversation. I like conversation, so I chimed in and after a couple minutes we parted ways. But something changed in just hose two minutes. He was not just "some guy" he was a student, close to graduation and not sure what he is going to do afterwards. He has certain interests, worries, a name, and a personality. After even the shallowest of conversations, I felt like I knew enough about this person to see him as an individual that I could sympathize with, and relate to on certain levels. In a way, I could now have charity for him, whereas before he was just a body in a room with me.
This started a trend that day, I began striking up conversation with random strangers. I was turning bodies into people all over the place. When I learned about another guys family, and some of his worries and anxieties about his kids, and his relationship with his wife, I felt like I could appreciate him more as a person. With the millions of people all around all the time, I think in order to save ourselves the mental energy we just categorize them into two files: "people we know" (which is subsequently divided up into family, friends, acquaintances, etc.) and "other." Some people may be able to have charity for the people in the "other" file. I know I can't, and I wonder if maybe the Savior can love everyone so fully, at least in part, because He knows everyone so fully.
So what does this all mean? And who the heck is "Marianne?" I'll tell you. I believe that getting to know as much as you can about the people around you (even if it is a thirty second conversation) will make that person get moved from "other" to "known" from the "known" file they can then be loved. It is exhausting to do all the time, because of the sheer number of people around us, but the day I discovered this principle I was on a high, talking to people all over the place like crazy. The final victim of the evening was a cashier at WinCo named Marianne. We had lots of groceries so we talked to her for a while. We built rapport up quick and were friends before the groceries were all bagged. Katie probably thought I was tormenting this poor woman talking her ear off, but it was fun. Every time we have gone to WinCo after 9 since that night, we look for Marianne. Sometimes we'll see her and I will shout hello to her from across the store. She just laughs and waves back. She probably did think I was crazy the first couple of times, but now it is so fun to see her. We will wait in the longer line if it is hers, and the other night we went and she noticed us standing in line and she opened up her register just to check us out then closed it again. I know, its weird, friends with a middle-aged night shift cashier, but it is fun, and brightens both of our days, especially when we don't have to wait to check out. Charity has its perks.
Finally, for those of you seeking a second witness just skip forward to 7:15 on this clip, and you will see that getting to know people can soften even the most hardened dictator.
How do you love people more? It is hard to find an answer that fits for many people. And no, I am not talking about people you already love, or people you serve regularly, etc. I mean people in general. All of them, everywhere. Those are the ones I don't know how to love. And it was not until a few months ago that I made progress in understanding how to accomplish my goal of love and charity for everyone. And it may surprise you that the answer was not just praying to be filled with it. I have done that for years, and I still don't feel any more loving. The thought occurred to me that I could not love someone I didn't know, or more precisely, people whom I didn't know anything about.
Whether or not this was the case, it opened up my mind to a new solution. I remember sitting in the steam room (or was it the sauna?) when the other guy in the room with me started making friendly conversation. I like conversation, so I chimed in and after a couple minutes we parted ways. But something changed in just hose two minutes. He was not just "some guy" he was a student, close to graduation and not sure what he is going to do afterwards. He has certain interests, worries, a name, and a personality. After even the shallowest of conversations, I felt like I knew enough about this person to see him as an individual that I could sympathize with, and relate to on certain levels. In a way, I could now have charity for him, whereas before he was just a body in a room with me.
This started a trend that day, I began striking up conversation with random strangers. I was turning bodies into people all over the place. When I learned about another guys family, and some of his worries and anxieties about his kids, and his relationship with his wife, I felt like I could appreciate him more as a person. With the millions of people all around all the time, I think in order to save ourselves the mental energy we just categorize them into two files: "people we know" (which is subsequently divided up into family, friends, acquaintances, etc.) and "other." Some people may be able to have charity for the people in the "other" file. I know I can't, and I wonder if maybe the Savior can love everyone so fully, at least in part, because He knows everyone so fully.
So what does this all mean? And who the heck is "Marianne?" I'll tell you. I believe that getting to know as much as you can about the people around you (even if it is a thirty second conversation) will make that person get moved from "other" to "known" from the "known" file they can then be loved. It is exhausting to do all the time, because of the sheer number of people around us, but the day I discovered this principle I was on a high, talking to people all over the place like crazy. The final victim of the evening was a cashier at WinCo named Marianne. We had lots of groceries so we talked to her for a while. We built rapport up quick and were friends before the groceries were all bagged. Katie probably thought I was tormenting this poor woman talking her ear off, but it was fun. Every time we have gone to WinCo after 9 since that night, we look for Marianne. Sometimes we'll see her and I will shout hello to her from across the store. She just laughs and waves back. She probably did think I was crazy the first couple of times, but now it is so fun to see her. We will wait in the longer line if it is hers, and the other night we went and she noticed us standing in line and she opened up her register just to check us out then closed it again. I know, its weird, friends with a middle-aged night shift cashier, but it is fun, and brightens both of our days, especially when we don't have to wait to check out. Charity has its perks.
Finally, for those of you seeking a second witness just skip forward to 7:15 on this clip, and you will see that getting to know people can soften even the most hardened dictator.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
I Can Only Imagine...
After a really hard day, or during a really unpleasant time during the day, what do you do to keep your sanity? Or with what thoughts do you fill your mind during discouraging times? I ask these questions rhetorically, because obviously I am just leading into the part where I give my own answers. And as you may have guessed from the title of this post, I have been using my imagination to get me through tough times more and more lately.
I share this with the internet world at the risk of sounding like I am turning into a certain red-haired Canadian orphan, but so be it. Besides, I think Anne may have been on to something after all. However, I do differ with Miss Shirley in that I tend to visualize the future, rather than using my imagination to alter my perception of the present. And I have found it incredibly effective at distracting me from present anxieties. I have also found that it can be effective with couples as well as individuals. If Katie and I both had hard days, we may be driving together, sitting on the couch, or lying in bed and we will begin to imagine our future together. This can be anything from planning an elaborate and exciting trip to an exotic destination, to discussing the design of our future multimillion dollar dream house. A great deal of frustration has been assuaged as of late, just by mentally designing our dream bathroom.
Now I am not sure if we will ever have a home full of secret passages, a cave shower that rains from the ceiling, an indoor rock wall/foam pit room, and a giant library with rolling ladders and bay windows just like in Beauty and the Beast, or whether we will ever spend weeks living in a small town in Italy, or navigating the misty mountains of China... Whether we do or not, the practice of imagining it all makes us smile and escape from a less-pleasant reality for a while, and when we return to that reality, it somehow does not seem quite so dismal. I have also thought of quite a few other advantages of this coping mechanism over some popular others.
1. This is a 100% diet friendly practice. Rather than eating a pint of ice cream (or frozen cookie dough) to distract me, I get to do something that will not contribute to me having to go out in search of bigger pants.
2. Imagining the future is both fun and enjoyable while you are doing it, and afterwards. I can think of many things that bring pleasure during or after, but for me there are few things that help me feel better during and after the activity. For example, I feel good after I run, but not while I am running, or I am distracted while I am on Facebook, but feel lousy after.
3. It provides an excellent opportunity to slow down a little bit and not be so rushed. I feel like we need to do this more often. It helps to lower our blood pressure and imagining also opens up our mind to the practice of thinking, and pondering in an enjoyable way, and things can come together that we are not even thinking actively about, if only we will turn off the electronics and give our minds a little workout.
4. It prevents Alzheimer's Disease. Okay, I am actually not so sure about this one, but I would not be surprised one bit. People get Alzheimer's because the don't use their brain enough, so they do crosswords or Sudoku to keep sharp, but I think my way is better.
5. It fosters creativity. I could spend hours online looking at neat, original, creative, and clever things that other people have come up with. But in a way I feel like doing this does not help my own creative juices to flow at all, it just makes me wish I could be as talented as the other people who post such neat ideas and original room designs, or whatever. Instead of being an admirer, I feel like using your imagination will make you into a contributor. And it is more fun to think of something yourself.
So there you have it, a somewhat comprehensive argument in favor of using your imagination. Go ahead, give it a try right now. Turn off your monitor and take a few moments to design the kitchen or bathroom you would create if you had Bill Gates' budget. Don't worry too much about what is possible, just unleash your inner "carrots" and enjoy the ride...
I share this with the internet world at the risk of sounding like I am turning into a certain red-haired Canadian orphan, but so be it. Besides, I think Anne may have been on to something after all. However, I do differ with Miss Shirley in that I tend to visualize the future, rather than using my imagination to alter my perception of the present. And I have found it incredibly effective at distracting me from present anxieties. I have also found that it can be effective with couples as well as individuals. If Katie and I both had hard days, we may be driving together, sitting on the couch, or lying in bed and we will begin to imagine our future together. This can be anything from planning an elaborate and exciting trip to an exotic destination, to discussing the design of our future multimillion dollar dream house. A great deal of frustration has been assuaged as of late, just by mentally designing our dream bathroom.
Now I am not sure if we will ever have a home full of secret passages, a cave shower that rains from the ceiling, an indoor rock wall/foam pit room, and a giant library with rolling ladders and bay windows just like in Beauty and the Beast, or whether we will ever spend weeks living in a small town in Italy, or navigating the misty mountains of China... Whether we do or not, the practice of imagining it all makes us smile and escape from a less-pleasant reality for a while, and when we return to that reality, it somehow does not seem quite so dismal. I have also thought of quite a few other advantages of this coping mechanism over some popular others.
1. This is a 100% diet friendly practice. Rather than eating a pint of ice cream (or frozen cookie dough) to distract me, I get to do something that will not contribute to me having to go out in search of bigger pants.
2. Imagining the future is both fun and enjoyable while you are doing it, and afterwards. I can think of many things that bring pleasure during or after, but for me there are few things that help me feel better during and after the activity. For example, I feel good after I run, but not while I am running, or I am distracted while I am on Facebook, but feel lousy after.
3. It provides an excellent opportunity to slow down a little bit and not be so rushed. I feel like we need to do this more often. It helps to lower our blood pressure and imagining also opens up our mind to the practice of thinking, and pondering in an enjoyable way, and things can come together that we are not even thinking actively about, if only we will turn off the electronics and give our minds a little workout.
4. It prevents Alzheimer's Disease. Okay, I am actually not so sure about this one, but I would not be surprised one bit. People get Alzheimer's because the don't use their brain enough, so they do crosswords or Sudoku to keep sharp, but I think my way is better.
5. It fosters creativity. I could spend hours online looking at neat, original, creative, and clever things that other people have come up with. But in a way I feel like doing this does not help my own creative juices to flow at all, it just makes me wish I could be as talented as the other people who post such neat ideas and original room designs, or whatever. Instead of being an admirer, I feel like using your imagination will make you into a contributor. And it is more fun to think of something yourself.
So there you have it, a somewhat comprehensive argument in favor of using your imagination. Go ahead, give it a try right now. Turn off your monitor and take a few moments to design the kitchen or bathroom you would create if you had Bill Gates' budget. Don't worry too much about what is possible, just unleash your inner "carrots" and enjoy the ride...
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
[In]action
Disclaimer: Lately I have felt more prone to blog when I am in a melancholy mood, so if the tone of my posts seems a little off, please forgive me, I'm not quite sure why I feel like blogging to de-stress and clear my head lately... That having been said, I will move on to today's subject, action! (Or lack thereof)
Now let me make this clear, I am not talking about the kind of action you think of associated with movies, like lasers and explosions and very well choreographed martial arts, I am simply referring to action in the sense of "doing something." And reflecting on the problems with not acting. (Again, don't think of this word in a movie-esque sense) Inacting is one of the easiest things in the world to do, especially for me. I have many ideas and opportunities all of the time that end in inaction. But, how can this be when I read so many books about taking action and so forth, how can this be when I know that inaction is much worse than acting and then failing because at least there is a chance of succeeding if you try. How can this be when I know and have oft recited the platitude that "you miss 100% percent of the shots you don't take," and I don't even like basketball! Well, I figured it out. I searched my own brain for the thought processes that were allowing me to circumnavigate around all of this knowledge and justify a course of inaction. I outline this particular stream of consciousness here, just in case it is similar to your own, and in hopes that identifying it will make it easier to overcome. But be warned, I often have a difficult time translating streams of consciousness and abstract thoughts into coherent paragraphs, but I will do my best, so bear with me...
It is not hard to identify the demotivating factor, because it is almost always the same... fear. But this much I have always known, of course fear causes inaction, but to date knowing this has rarely helped me to overcome my issues with inaction. I remember my best teacher, Bro. Little once explained to me how many people would rather have the possibility of success, than know for certain whether or not they would actually be a success. He explained that he had a friend who for years and years would talk about a business idea he had, and loved to bask in the praise that people offered when he explained the idea he would eventually implement. Finally, Bro. Little offered to help him get his idea going and make it a reality, but his friend declined. From an observer's standpoint, his friend seems absolutely ridiculous! Who would rather have the possibility of success than the real thing? Well, I think most of us, but I could be projecting.
I did not understand how I could go against everything I believed about seizing opportunities, until two things happened recently. The first thing is that we talked about time in my family recreation class. We discussed how valuable we hold time in society, how efficiency and busy-ness are highly regarded virtues in our culture. We discusses a book called "In praise of slowness: challenging the cult of speed" and it got my mind going about time, and how in order to feel valued by society we must be busy, and not waste time. The second thing is that I watched "Dead Poets Society" and realized that I really do always feel like there is more than enough future left to do everything I need/want to, but of course, there is not, mortality is carries with it an inevitable, unknowable deadline, by which time you had better have done what you wanted.
Ok, now that I have got that out, I think I can explain my thought process. First, fear makes it possible for me to convince myself that the endeavor I am undertaking cannot succeed. It leaves no room for the possibility of success. Once my subconscious has convinced itself that failure is inevitable, it is easy to conclude that any time and effort applied to aforementioned task would be wasted, in addition to resulting in the sadness affiliated with failure. The mind then decides that facing possible failure it can handle, and wasting time it can do, but both combined is not worth the risk, especially since we are already secretly convinced of our inevitable failure. I can then go about wasting time in some other way that does not involve any risks, and therefore there is no possibility of failure, something that my emotions are not invested in, like Facebook or YouTube.
So, having now identified how I think this awful process works, I am hoping that I will be better able to avoid it in the future. Here's to hoping. Well, I better get going, I have a few calls to make to potential customers for a business idea I have been working on lately, but maybe I will go check my messages and notifications first...
Now let me make this clear, I am not talking about the kind of action you think of associated with movies, like lasers and explosions and very well choreographed martial arts, I am simply referring to action in the sense of "doing something." And reflecting on the problems with not acting. (Again, don't think of this word in a movie-esque sense) Inacting is one of the easiest things in the world to do, especially for me. I have many ideas and opportunities all of the time that end in inaction. But, how can this be when I read so many books about taking action and so forth, how can this be when I know that inaction is much worse than acting and then failing because at least there is a chance of succeeding if you try. How can this be when I know and have oft recited the platitude that "you miss 100% percent of the shots you don't take," and I don't even like basketball! Well, I figured it out. I searched my own brain for the thought processes that were allowing me to circumnavigate around all of this knowledge and justify a course of inaction. I outline this particular stream of consciousness here, just in case it is similar to your own, and in hopes that identifying it will make it easier to overcome. But be warned, I often have a difficult time translating streams of consciousness and abstract thoughts into coherent paragraphs, but I will do my best, so bear with me...
It is not hard to identify the demotivating factor, because it is almost always the same... fear. But this much I have always known, of course fear causes inaction, but to date knowing this has rarely helped me to overcome my issues with inaction. I remember my best teacher, Bro. Little once explained to me how many people would rather have the possibility of success, than know for certain whether or not they would actually be a success. He explained that he had a friend who for years and years would talk about a business idea he had, and loved to bask in the praise that people offered when he explained the idea he would eventually implement. Finally, Bro. Little offered to help him get his idea going and make it a reality, but his friend declined. From an observer's standpoint, his friend seems absolutely ridiculous! Who would rather have the possibility of success than the real thing? Well, I think most of us, but I could be projecting.
I did not understand how I could go against everything I believed about seizing opportunities, until two things happened recently. The first thing is that we talked about time in my family recreation class. We discussed how valuable we hold time in society, how efficiency and busy-ness are highly regarded virtues in our culture. We discusses a book called "In praise of slowness: challenging the cult of speed" and it got my mind going about time, and how in order to feel valued by society we must be busy, and not waste time. The second thing is that I watched "Dead Poets Society" and realized that I really do always feel like there is more than enough future left to do everything I need/want to, but of course, there is not, mortality is carries with it an inevitable, unknowable deadline, by which time you had better have done what you wanted.
Ok, now that I have got that out, I think I can explain my thought process. First, fear makes it possible for me to convince myself that the endeavor I am undertaking cannot succeed. It leaves no room for the possibility of success. Once my subconscious has convinced itself that failure is inevitable, it is easy to conclude that any time and effort applied to aforementioned task would be wasted, in addition to resulting in the sadness affiliated with failure. The mind then decides that facing possible failure it can handle, and wasting time it can do, but both combined is not worth the risk, especially since we are already secretly convinced of our inevitable failure. I can then go about wasting time in some other way that does not involve any risks, and therefore there is no possibility of failure, something that my emotions are not invested in, like Facebook or YouTube.
So, having now identified how I think this awful process works, I am hoping that I will be better able to avoid it in the future. Here's to hoping. Well, I better get going, I have a few calls to make to potential customers for a business idea I have been working on lately, but maybe I will go check my messages and notifications first...
Saturday, February 25, 2012
On Dreams...
School has been super awful this semester. And sometimes it really gets me down. These are the times when I wonder why I am even in school at all. Why don't I just leave? Then I think, "What would I do if I left?" It is at this point that I realize that I don't really have much of a clue what I am going to do when I finish anyway, so why not just leave now and figure it out sooner than later? I know I want to be an entrepreneur, I have some ideas I could get started, and all this I want to do so I can live my dreams. It was at this point in my stream of consciousness that I realized I don't really have many dreams...
This turned out to be quite a startling thought for me. I felt like I had just grown so accustomed to a life of school and schedules and jobs, that I had a hard time answering the question: "What would you do if money was not an issue?" So I have thought about that question a lot lately. And it has been a lot harder than you might think to come up with dreams that matter to me, rather than just stealing other peoples because they sound cool. But I have thought of a few things, and I know I am going to need to make this list longer, but these are some of my dreams that I am going to live... Starting this year.
3. Fencing. Weird, I know. But it is another thing I really want to learn and am excited about. So I will.
4. Travel. This one has always been on my list, and I have various specifics destinations I would like to go to, but I will not bore you with the details of each one. I just want to see and experience as much of the world as I can.
5. Become an [amateur] survivalist. I really want to learn more about this kind of stuff. Not like I ever plan on just marching into the mountains one day to live there indefinitely, but I would like to be able to just in case it was ever necessary, or for a weekend or something. But I think I should throw a disclaimer in there, I do not want to be Bear Grylls and learn how to survive in any environment in the world and eat camel dung or whatever. Just be able to live in the mountains like that crazy guy in southern Utah. Except without all of the felonies...
6. Rock Climbing, this could kind of be paired with the last one, since it could be described as a survivalist skill, but I figure I would learn them from different places.
7. Kayaking. I feel like I might like this one, I pretty much need to give it a try and then see if it really is one of my dreams to get god at it, I have it on here as a potential dream.
8. Become a hot-air balloon pilot. Yeah, I pretty much can't think of many things that would be cooler than owning and piloting my own hot-air balloon.
9. Write a book. I am not sure what on, how long, or even what genre... I just want to.
10. This last one is no secret or revelation, I have dreamed of being a successful entrepreneur for years, and in fact I view it as the dream that makes the others possible. For this reason it should probably have been first, but it seemed rather poetic to have the last be the first, so I kept it the way it is.
Well, that looks like a good start to me. I am going to take a lighter class load in the fall and sign up for either martial arts or fencing lessons, and have somewhat of a "mini-retirement." Except without the travel. (Unless of course you count the cruise I will go on in November) So there you have it, and more importantly, there I have it. This is mostly a post for me. One to help me get my thoughts down in writing and give some clarity to them. If you have any dreams, fulfilled or not, comment them below. It might help me get some more inspiration...
This turned out to be quite a startling thought for me. I felt like I had just grown so accustomed to a life of school and schedules and jobs, that I had a hard time answering the question: "What would you do if money was not an issue?" So I have thought about that question a lot lately. And it has been a lot harder than you might think to come up with dreams that matter to me, rather than just stealing other peoples because they sound cool. But I have thought of a few things, and I know I am going to need to make this list longer, but these are some of my dreams that I am going to live... Starting this year.
1. Someday, I want to live in Dominica with Katie, even if it just for a month or two. For those of you who don't know, I am not referring to the Dominican Republic. Dominica is a southern Caribbean island we visited last November, and one of the most beautiful places in the world. They call it "The Nature Island" as well as "The Island of Longevity" because they have one of the highest percentages of people over 100 in the world. They grow everything you have ever heard of and more, and the produce there looks like it is on steroids. Plus, dozens of waterfalls, rivers, beaches, and even a boiling lake. Hurricanes are rare, and there are no deadly animals on the island. Paradise...
2. Learn a martial art. I am not 100% decided on which one, though. This is another one that Katie and I both want to do together. For most of my life I was not a fan of this idea, but recently it has sounded more and more appealing, and I am excited to give it a try.
4. Travel. This one has always been on my list, and I have various specifics destinations I would like to go to, but I will not bore you with the details of each one. I just want to see and experience as much of the world as I can.
5. Become an [amateur] survivalist. I really want to learn more about this kind of stuff. Not like I ever plan on just marching into the mountains one day to live there indefinitely, but I would like to be able to just in case it was ever necessary, or for a weekend or something. But I think I should throw a disclaimer in there, I do not want to be Bear Grylls and learn how to survive in any environment in the world and eat camel dung or whatever. Just be able to live in the mountains like that crazy guy in southern Utah. Except without all of the felonies...
6. Rock Climbing, this could kind of be paired with the last one, since it could be described as a survivalist skill, but I figure I would learn them from different places.
7. Kayaking. I feel like I might like this one, I pretty much need to give it a try and then see if it really is one of my dreams to get god at it, I have it on here as a potential dream.
8. Become a hot-air balloon pilot. Yeah, I pretty much can't think of many things that would be cooler than owning and piloting my own hot-air balloon.
9. Write a book. I am not sure what on, how long, or even what genre... I just want to.
10. This last one is no secret or revelation, I have dreamed of being a successful entrepreneur for years, and in fact I view it as the dream that makes the others possible. For this reason it should probably have been first, but it seemed rather poetic to have the last be the first, so I kept it the way it is.
Well, that looks like a good start to me. I am going to take a lighter class load in the fall and sign up for either martial arts or fencing lessons, and have somewhat of a "mini-retirement." Except without the travel. (Unless of course you count the cruise I will go on in November) So there you have it, and more importantly, there I have it. This is mostly a post for me. One to help me get my thoughts down in writing and give some clarity to them. If you have any dreams, fulfilled or not, comment them below. It might help me get some more inspiration...
Sunday, February 19, 2012
For Time and Eternity...
For the purpose of filling in the gaps that I left by not blogging for a whole year, I am writing this, the first of many such posts, hopefully, to fill in my imaginary readers on what the actual readers (hi Mom!) of this blog already know...
I met Katie in Junior High, but I don't remember having any classes with her until High School. World history sophomore year, and chemistry senior year. (Yes, we had chemistry together, hilarious.) Anyway, it was in these two classes that we became acquaintances. But never friends, really. We could not even find each others signatures in our yearbooks, if that says anything. Eventually I left on my mission, and near the time when I got back, she left on hers. While she was gone I rekindled friendships with some of my old high school friends, and spent a lot of time with them. Eventually, she got home and started spending time with the same high school friends I was spending time with, and thus we re-met.
She did not know who I was, actually. I remembered her, but she thought I was someone else. It was not until she looked me up in the yearbook that she realized who I was. She only (to this day) has one memory of me from before the mission. It is of the dweeby, awkward, pudgy, annoying, 10th grade version of myself following her through the halls calling her "kit" (she used to spell her name 'KT') which apparently I thought was hilarious and she thought was outrageously irritating.
But now that I am older, much more mature, irresistibly attractive, charming, and funny, she was able to overlook her one memory of me, and be friends with me. Which we remained for about 6 or 7 months after she got home. We went hiking, snowshoeing, camping, rafting, and backpacking together. By February we could not be satisfied with friendship any longer. After attending a concert on Valentines Day with a group of friends, I went to her house and asked her on our first date which we scheduled for Presidents day weekend. We went birdwatching, which included some strategic marsh bushwacking, which required us holding hands in order to steady one another... Got hotdogs (that made her sick) and went to the Nickelcade (I know, totally romantic, right?). We kissed on our second date, and were decidedly steady by our third.
About a month and a half later, I was approached about a summer job opportunity selling for Living Scriptures. My biggest hangup was that I didn't want to leave Katie. She once thought about coming with me, but then decided against it thinking it was "too big a commitment." I felt quite strongly that I needed to go do this job, and she said she would support me in whatever I chose. About a week later, we went camping together and she brought up marriage. I was surprised because I had planned on dropping the big "I love you" that night, and here I had already been trumped by her explaining that she had often dreamed of us being married or engaged, and that she prayed about it and received a "Well, duh. Isn't it obvious?"
So here I was, completely caught off guard, because the last thing I'd heard from her is that she "liked where we were" and selling with me would be "too big a commitment." She had also mentioned a few days prior that she didn't think she would get married until she was 50. But I was glad to hear it, for I had certainly been thinking about marriage, I told her so (rather awkwardly I might add) and then we shared the sentiment I had planned on delivering that night anyway. About another week later, three days before I was set to leave for my summer job she asked if I really had to go. I said yes, because I felt like I was being prepared for certain things like independence... responsibility... and... marriage... there was a short silence broken by Katie saying "I do want to marry you Mike." I sighed and expressed my joy that the feeling was mutual. The next day we spent the day together discussing marriage, the day after that I planned how I would propose and talked to her parents, and then the next morning, Easter Sunday, I popped the question when I went to her house to pick her up for church.
The next day I left for three and a half months, which in case you are bad at math is almost twice as long as we dated! She flew to Houston to visit me in July, and then again at the end of the summer so we could drive home together. From that day we have been virtually inseparable. We were married on October 6th, 2011 in the Salt Lake Temple and life together has been nothing short of euphoric since then. (It is only life apart that gets hard, like when I am at school or she is cutting hair) I love her so much, and am eternally grateful that Heavenly Father put all the dominoes in place so that events would transpire as they did. I got so much more than the best wife I could ever begin to hope for, I also got to be an older brother (something I have always wanted) of five new siblings, as well as getting two grandpas, two more parents, one new adorable nephew, more new aunts and uncles than I can count, and a new best friend.
I met Katie in Junior High, but I don't remember having any classes with her until High School. World history sophomore year, and chemistry senior year. (Yes, we had chemistry together, hilarious.) Anyway, it was in these two classes that we became acquaintances. But never friends, really. We could not even find each others signatures in our yearbooks, if that says anything. Eventually I left on my mission, and near the time when I got back, she left on hers. While she was gone I rekindled friendships with some of my old high school friends, and spent a lot of time with them. Eventually, she got home and started spending time with the same high school friends I was spending time with, and thus we re-met.
She did not know who I was, actually. I remembered her, but she thought I was someone else. It was not until she looked me up in the yearbook that she realized who I was. She only (to this day) has one memory of me from before the mission. It is of the dweeby, awkward, pudgy, annoying, 10th grade version of myself following her through the halls calling her "kit" (she used to spell her name 'KT') which apparently I thought was hilarious and she thought was outrageously irritating.
But now that I am older, much more mature, irresistibly attractive, charming, and funny, she was able to overlook her one memory of me, and be friends with me. Which we remained for about 6 or 7 months after she got home. We went hiking, snowshoeing, camping, rafting, and backpacking together. By February we could not be satisfied with friendship any longer. After attending a concert on Valentines Day with a group of friends, I went to her house and asked her on our first date which we scheduled for Presidents day weekend. We went birdwatching, which included some strategic marsh bushwacking, which required us holding hands in order to steady one another... Got hotdogs (that made her sick) and went to the Nickelcade (I know, totally romantic, right?). We kissed on our second date, and were decidedly steady by our third.
About a month and a half later, I was approached about a summer job opportunity selling for Living Scriptures. My biggest hangup was that I didn't want to leave Katie. She once thought about coming with me, but then decided against it thinking it was "too big a commitment." I felt quite strongly that I needed to go do this job, and she said she would support me in whatever I chose. About a week later, we went camping together and she brought up marriage. I was surprised because I had planned on dropping the big "I love you" that night, and here I had already been trumped by her explaining that she had often dreamed of us being married or engaged, and that she prayed about it and received a "Well, duh. Isn't it obvious?"
So here I was, completely caught off guard, because the last thing I'd heard from her is that she "liked where we were" and selling with me would be "too big a commitment." She had also mentioned a few days prior that she didn't think she would get married until she was 50. But I was glad to hear it, for I had certainly been thinking about marriage, I told her so (rather awkwardly I might add) and then we shared the sentiment I had planned on delivering that night anyway. About another week later, three days before I was set to leave for my summer job she asked if I really had to go. I said yes, because I felt like I was being prepared for certain things like independence... responsibility... and... marriage... there was a short silence broken by Katie saying "I do want to marry you Mike." I sighed and expressed my joy that the feeling was mutual. The next day we spent the day together discussing marriage, the day after that I planned how I would propose and talked to her parents, and then the next morning, Easter Sunday, I popped the question when I went to her house to pick her up for church.
The next day I left for three and a half months, which in case you are bad at math is almost twice as long as we dated! She flew to Houston to visit me in July, and then again at the end of the summer so we could drive home together. From that day we have been virtually inseparable. We were married on October 6th, 2011 in the Salt Lake Temple and life together has been nothing short of euphoric since then. (It is only life apart that gets hard, like when I am at school or she is cutting hair) I love her so much, and am eternally grateful that Heavenly Father put all the dominoes in place so that events would transpire as they did. I got so much more than the best wife I could ever begin to hope for, I also got to be an older brother (something I have always wanted) of five new siblings, as well as getting two grandpas, two more parents, one new adorable nephew, more new aunts and uncles than I can count, and a new best friend.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
On Being Extraordinary
It has been almost exactly one year since I last posted. That is incredible to me. Anyway, there are many reasons why I stopped, and life ceasing to be interesting or noteworthy are not things I would list among those reasons. Maybe if this new found desire to resurrect the blog lasts beyond tonight I will write about many of the things that I have done and experienced in the last 12 months. (As if anyone reading this wouldn't already know anyway) But I digress from the point.
The point is not the many reasons why I stopped. It is the one reason I started this blog back up. That reason is multifaceted but it basically boils down to a friend I made in one (well, two actually) of my classes this semester. His name is Jeff, and it was his appearance in a Youtube video that got me thinking about people (like him) who are truly extraordinary.
I don't think there are many of us that want to be ordinary, although I would hypothesize that most people have just accepted that they are not and will never be truly extraordinary. I am at this moment, battling with myself, trying with all my mental strength to not join that group of individuals, the ones who have accepted ordinaryness, and it is proving much more difficult than usual.
My friend Jeff is in two leisure classes with me. (These are classes based on the concept of leisure, they are not easy, leisurely classes) Because of the subject matter of these classes, Jeff gets regular opportunities to talk about what he likes to do for leisure and recreation, just as we all do. He likes rock climbing, canyoneering, that kind of stuff. But not just like most people like it, and certainly not just how I like it. He REALLY likes it, and he does some incredible things. One day in class he talked about a particularly long and difficult climb he did, and said that he enjoyed the satisfaction of having been one of only a few dozen people to have ever finished the route he had. But then I was watching Youtube videos today, and saw the following video...
Awesome, right? Beautiful views, cool people, fun music, and great camera work. This is the kind of video I really admire, the kind that makes life look even more fun than it is in reality. As some of you may know, it was a video that inspired me to start this blog in the first place. I knew I would never meet the maker of that video, he was just some Asian dude who could really dance and visited lots of cool places. I considered him extraordinary because of his travels, and was inspired by the video. This new video is different. When I saw Jeff in the the behind the scenes part, something hit me. Something like: Here is this kid, a few years younger than me, at the same school, and he is part of something so extraordinarily cool, and here I am, just watching videos of it. That is when I realized that I am no longer just a kid who watches other people older than him do remarkable things, people are my age and already extraordinary, and not just people who live hundreds of miles away or in much different circumstances than me. I met one. And he is not a whole lot different than me.
Anyway, this post is not much more than just rambling. I don't know exactly what makes someone extraordinary, nor do I know if people who I think are, consider themselves to be. In fighting this battle against myself, trying to make myself believe that I am, or at least still can be extraordinary, and live a life free of boredom and outside the mundane, I have done a lot of reflecting. I am not yet convinced of my extraordinarity. Too many people have done the same things I have. I am not sure exactly where the cutoff line is, exactly. I just know that I have not crossed to the other side of it yet...
Perhaps if only a few others have done what you have, you are extraordinary. Perhaps only a few dozen people, or maybe even a hundred. If 101 people have done it, does it lose its uniqueness? I am not sure. Surely many people have climbed Everest, and few would call those people ordinary, but the more people do it, the less exciting it becomes. I figure that as more and more people put forth this effort, that they will in turn raise the bar for those who follow, working harder and accomplishing feats and setting new records. If I figure correctly, the more time passes, the harder it is to be noticed. Soon you have to be that guy who climbed Everest blind, in order to even be noticed. Marathons, too, used to mean something, but now tons of people have done them, and people are less and less impressed by them, the same goes for triathlons. Although, I would not yet consider those who finish an Ironman ordinary...
But then, maybe there is no "maximum occupancy" and everyone can be extraordinary. Maybe it is not the sheer number of people who have become extraordinary, typified by those who can confidently declare: "I walked on the moon." Perhaps what really makes someone extraordinary is that they have done something that requires extraordinary effort. This may often be associated with small numbers of people because so few of us are willing to stretch ourselves that far outside our comfort zone.
Okay, well that is enough rambling for tonight. I may return to this subject more in the future, and I will consider what I can do to join the ranks of those who's lives are worth talking about. In the mean time comment and let me know your thoughts on the matter. But please, don't try to tell me how special and extraordinary I am, this post was not intended so that I could get pandered to. Until next time, which is hopefully sooner than February 2013...
The point is not the many reasons why I stopped. It is the one reason I started this blog back up. That reason is multifaceted but it basically boils down to a friend I made in one (well, two actually) of my classes this semester. His name is Jeff, and it was his appearance in a Youtube video that got me thinking about people (like him) who are truly extraordinary.
I don't think there are many of us that want to be ordinary, although I would hypothesize that most people have just accepted that they are not and will never be truly extraordinary. I am at this moment, battling with myself, trying with all my mental strength to not join that group of individuals, the ones who have accepted ordinaryness, and it is proving much more difficult than usual.
My friend Jeff is in two leisure classes with me. (These are classes based on the concept of leisure, they are not easy, leisurely classes) Because of the subject matter of these classes, Jeff gets regular opportunities to talk about what he likes to do for leisure and recreation, just as we all do. He likes rock climbing, canyoneering, that kind of stuff. But not just like most people like it, and certainly not just how I like it. He REALLY likes it, and he does some incredible things. One day in class he talked about a particularly long and difficult climb he did, and said that he enjoyed the satisfaction of having been one of only a few dozen people to have ever finished the route he had. But then I was watching Youtube videos today, and saw the following video...
Awesome, right? Beautiful views, cool people, fun music, and great camera work. This is the kind of video I really admire, the kind that makes life look even more fun than it is in reality. As some of you may know, it was a video that inspired me to start this blog in the first place. I knew I would never meet the maker of that video, he was just some Asian dude who could really dance and visited lots of cool places. I considered him extraordinary because of his travels, and was inspired by the video. This new video is different. When I saw Jeff in the the behind the scenes part, something hit me. Something like: Here is this kid, a few years younger than me, at the same school, and he is part of something so extraordinarily cool, and here I am, just watching videos of it. That is when I realized that I am no longer just a kid who watches other people older than him do remarkable things, people are my age and already extraordinary, and not just people who live hundreds of miles away or in much different circumstances than me. I met one. And he is not a whole lot different than me.
Anyway, this post is not much more than just rambling. I don't know exactly what makes someone extraordinary, nor do I know if people who I think are, consider themselves to be. In fighting this battle against myself, trying to make myself believe that I am, or at least still can be extraordinary, and live a life free of boredom and outside the mundane, I have done a lot of reflecting. I am not yet convinced of my extraordinarity. Too many people have done the same things I have. I am not sure exactly where the cutoff line is, exactly. I just know that I have not crossed to the other side of it yet...
Perhaps if only a few others have done what you have, you are extraordinary. Perhaps only a few dozen people, or maybe even a hundred. If 101 people have done it, does it lose its uniqueness? I am not sure. Surely many people have climbed Everest, and few would call those people ordinary, but the more people do it, the less exciting it becomes. I figure that as more and more people put forth this effort, that they will in turn raise the bar for those who follow, working harder and accomplishing feats and setting new records. If I figure correctly, the more time passes, the harder it is to be noticed. Soon you have to be that guy who climbed Everest blind, in order to even be noticed. Marathons, too, used to mean something, but now tons of people have done them, and people are less and less impressed by them, the same goes for triathlons. Although, I would not yet consider those who finish an Ironman ordinary...
But then, maybe there is no "maximum occupancy" and everyone can be extraordinary. Maybe it is not the sheer number of people who have become extraordinary, typified by those who can confidently declare: "I walked on the moon." Perhaps what really makes someone extraordinary is that they have done something that requires extraordinary effort. This may often be associated with small numbers of people because so few of us are willing to stretch ourselves that far outside our comfort zone.
Okay, well that is enough rambling for tonight. I may return to this subject more in the future, and I will consider what I can do to join the ranks of those who's lives are worth talking about. In the mean time comment and let me know your thoughts on the matter. But please, don't try to tell me how special and extraordinary I am, this post was not intended so that I could get pandered to. Until next time, which is hopefully sooner than February 2013...
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