What I mean is, not so long ago being average was fine. As long as you worked hard, paid your bills, provided for your family everyone who knew you would have said you were a good person. And that was enough for us. Just knowing we fulfilled our obligations, raised decent children, and didn't hurt anyone else satisfied us. Not so any more.
Now we all desire to be someone. What does that even mean? Are we not anyone now just because we aren't being followed by paparazzi or asked to dine at the White House? When did we start to think that being average, being normal was not okay? And why in the world are we teaching are kids the same thing?
Look around you at the evidence. Facebook, Twitter, blogs (yes, I get the irony) - they all point to us being desperate to be heard, to be recognized as more than average. I mean, be honest. Are you pouring your heart out on the Internet because you really do have 673 friends who care about your welfare? Or are you secretly hoping you'll be the next Internet sensation? We are all making noise, trying to be the loudest so that someone we don't even know can elevate us to a higher level. Then we have the audacity to wonder why we are so unsatisfied all the time. Seriously?!?
Let me let you in on a little secret: there isn't room at the top for everyone...AND THAT'S OKAY! Do you know why being average is okay? Sure, Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. But do you think he could have done that without average people around? Who was fixing his meals while he experimented? An average cook. Who helped him take notes and kept his office organized? His average secretary. Don't you realize that the only reason Henry Ford was able to produce the Model T or Shakespeare could write Hamlet or Alexander the Great could conquer the world is because they were all standing on the shoulders of average people? Average workers at the Ford factory, average actors on the stage, and average soldiers in the field are the ones who propelled their leaders to greatness. And during those times, that knowledge was enough for them.
I'll tell you what we've lost that we should be desperate to get back is the knowledge that we are all part of a greater something. I'm not even talking religion. I'm talking about just humankind itself. For example, all Americans need to realize that we are all part of a great country; that we have unlimited potential, but someone has to be the workhorse. Someone has to give up the glory to grind the wheat to make bread. But we are all too busy trying to go our own direction. Do you know what happens when everyone tries to go in their own direction. NOTHING!
Need a bigger picture? How about human decency? When we realize that we are all a part of something bigger, we won't need laws for road rage or driving while on the phone. Consideration is a natural extension of realizing it's not all about you. So you're the third in line at the red light, so what? No reason to rev your engine or cuss me out. The world won't end - and you'll be fine with that.
I get that I am publishing this in a blog that I hope lots of people read. I'm not against technology. But I think only communicating through machines is causing us to lose our humanity one text at a time. And that's a very dangerous road to travel. That is why I am going to take a detour and write a thank you note, on paper with pen, and send it through the post office to a person who really made my day special. No abbreviations, no shorthand. Just a quick, handwritten note to let them know I noticed them, and I am grateful.
With technology replacing our humanity, who knew that eventually Mr. Frost's "road less traveled" would be just an "average" road for "average" people?
