be ordinary
so much of our lives is spent in the pursuit of being exceptional
our society reveres those who are exceptional at their tasks and those people relish in the attention, in the houses and cars and jewelry that their money buys
this causes me to wonder however, why anyone would want to be truly exceptional at something, what joy does it bring really? it seems like such a burden from the outside, ruined by the immense amount of responsibility incurred through the blessing.
these exceptional people may use their money to help others but does their ability actually help others? does it give them joy outside of knowing that they are exceptional at something?
of course i know that it must be so, i know the rush of adrenaline accompanied by performing in front of a crowd of people, i know the true release of being completely and unashamedly engulfed in a piece of music, i have heard light...
but who are we exceptional for? are we exceptional for others whose opinion of us shouldn't actually matter, are we exceptional for ourselves or wouldn't we be happier just being normally good and still enjoying the soul of our activity, or are we exceptional for our parents who would love us no matter what?
is our true self-worth derived from whether or not we can be exceptional at something, because if it is then i don't believe i'm worth very much.... i am good at many things but exceptional by no means
then i came across a passage in a bible study i'm doing. this passage is from Oswald Chambers in his book My Utmost for His Highest and thusly reads:
"The test of a man's religious life and character is not what he does in the exceptional moments of life, but what he does in the ordinary times, when there is nothing tremendous or exciting on. The worth of a man is revealed in his attitude to ordinary things when he is not before the footlights. It is a painful business to get through into the stride of God, it means getting your second wind spiritually. In learning to walk with God there is always the difficulty of getting into His stride, but when we have got into it, the only characteristic that manifests itself is the life of God. The individual man is lost sight of in his personal union with God, and the stride and the power of God alone are manifested."
really... the place in our lives where is matters most HAS to be our spiritual walk, our relationship with God because that is what will continue on for the rest of eternity when everything else has turned to dust we will still be with God; loving Him and needing Him and he tests this relationship in the ordinary moments of our lives. in the moments where we're sitting on the couch, watching tv in our pajamas. in the moments when we're sitting in traffic for hours on end and let a car or two over in the lane in front of us. he tests us in seemingly mundane tasks and yet they are worth so much more in the long run than the tasks that we strive so hard to perfect, not the tasks that make us famous but the tasks that make us human...
maybe our society needs to rethink putting so many people on pedestals simply because they are exceptional at a craft and instead honor the mothers who do laundry or the fathers that cut grass or the child that shares his pudding cup with the new kid at lunch... perhaps we have the wrong heroes
oddly enough, my days have been filled with an increasingly pensive air.. i am thinking more about the tiny aspects of my life, analyzing my motives and directions
work is mundane but fun and the only task that truly fills my day
i have two more interviews... i can hardly believe it.... i'm still waiting to hear from the fifth school but so far i've been invited for interviews at every single one of the schools i applied for... how on earth will i keep up the charade that i'm as amazing as they think i am
i hope they won't find out how terribly ordinary i really am
and yet... i think i'm becoming okay with being ordinary... good or bad, i'm not sure yet
our society reveres those who are exceptional at their tasks and those people relish in the attention, in the houses and cars and jewelry that their money buys
this causes me to wonder however, why anyone would want to be truly exceptional at something, what joy does it bring really? it seems like such a burden from the outside, ruined by the immense amount of responsibility incurred through the blessing.
these exceptional people may use their money to help others but does their ability actually help others? does it give them joy outside of knowing that they are exceptional at something?
of course i know that it must be so, i know the rush of adrenaline accompanied by performing in front of a crowd of people, i know the true release of being completely and unashamedly engulfed in a piece of music, i have heard light...
but who are we exceptional for? are we exceptional for others whose opinion of us shouldn't actually matter, are we exceptional for ourselves or wouldn't we be happier just being normally good and still enjoying the soul of our activity, or are we exceptional for our parents who would love us no matter what?
is our true self-worth derived from whether or not we can be exceptional at something, because if it is then i don't believe i'm worth very much.... i am good at many things but exceptional by no means
then i came across a passage in a bible study i'm doing. this passage is from Oswald Chambers in his book My Utmost for His Highest and thusly reads:
"The test of a man's religious life and character is not what he does in the exceptional moments of life, but what he does in the ordinary times, when there is nothing tremendous or exciting on. The worth of a man is revealed in his attitude to ordinary things when he is not before the footlights. It is a painful business to get through into the stride of God, it means getting your second wind spiritually. In learning to walk with God there is always the difficulty of getting into His stride, but when we have got into it, the only characteristic that manifests itself is the life of God. The individual man is lost sight of in his personal union with God, and the stride and the power of God alone are manifested."
really... the place in our lives where is matters most HAS to be our spiritual walk, our relationship with God because that is what will continue on for the rest of eternity when everything else has turned to dust we will still be with God; loving Him and needing Him and he tests this relationship in the ordinary moments of our lives. in the moments where we're sitting on the couch, watching tv in our pajamas. in the moments when we're sitting in traffic for hours on end and let a car or two over in the lane in front of us. he tests us in seemingly mundane tasks and yet they are worth so much more in the long run than the tasks that we strive so hard to perfect, not the tasks that make us famous but the tasks that make us human...
maybe our society needs to rethink putting so many people on pedestals simply because they are exceptional at a craft and instead honor the mothers who do laundry or the fathers that cut grass or the child that shares his pudding cup with the new kid at lunch... perhaps we have the wrong heroes
oddly enough, my days have been filled with an increasingly pensive air.. i am thinking more about the tiny aspects of my life, analyzing my motives and directions
work is mundane but fun and the only task that truly fills my day
i have two more interviews... i can hardly believe it.... i'm still waiting to hear from the fifth school but so far i've been invited for interviews at every single one of the schools i applied for... how on earth will i keep up the charade that i'm as amazing as they think i am
i hope they won't find out how terribly ordinary i really am
and yet... i think i'm becoming okay with being ordinary... good or bad, i'm not sure yet