The Beauty in Mediocrity

One of my favorite quotes is, "No one in the world gets what they want, and that is beautiful." I first read it in Ready Player One but I believe it's attributed to another author.
I'm more of a destination guy than a journey guy. I've always wanted to get to the next thing as I discussed in my last post. The next level, the next payday, the next milestone.

 I'm also an advocate of Americana. The American Dream, the great American novel, small town living where people aren't anonymous but recognize each other and form circles of friends. They form extended families apart from the family they were born to but also keep sacred the family they were born to.

When I was a kid I wanted my own place. A place where I could do what I pleased. A man and his castle with a truck where I could go where I pleased when he pleased. I never realized being an adult was such a pain though. Life kicks you around, grinds you down, takes your dreams and laughs at them and eventually you strive for the simple things and are happy about it.

You work. You look forward to the next three day weekend, Friday is a little easier, Monday or Tuesday a little tougher and Thursday is trash day. Some days you have nothing to look forward to. You have nothing to excite you and some days you forget the last time you were passionate about something, anything. That's the daily grind most of us live through while possibly looking forward towards a well planned vacation someday, a brief respite before going back to the grind.

John Cougar Mellencamp sang in arguably one of his top three songs in his career, Jack and Diane, "Life goes on, long after the thrill of living is gone." Mellencamp seemed to tap into the feelings of middle America. Fly over country, exclusive of the coasts and where most Americans live their lives. 

Finding a passion for something is essential, necessary, vital to living. Myself I've been passionate about many things but they fade over time and I move onto something else to occupy my time and build upon my experiences. Sometimes I love watching street cooking videos, stir fry being my favorite, and learn to replicate those recipes. Sometimes I hear about a brand of scotch that's got a new offering and try to find a bottle. Maybe someday I'll be interested in wood working and build a wood shop, I don't know but the possibility is there and that's exciting.

Yes, sometimes you find beauty in being average, living an average life and filling it with experiences that can be extraordinary....at least for a little while.