Extra…Extra-Ordinary!
©Allen Merritt (2015)
Several years ago I have the distinct joy and pleasure to get cast
in a community theater production of a musical entitled Pippin. One of the songs
demonstrated how the leading character of Pippin (son of King Charlemagne) felt
about himself and life: Extraordinary.
Patching the
roof and pitching the hay
Is not my idea
of a perfect day
When you’re
extraordinary
You gotta do
extraordinary things!
He has a high opinion of himself and what he thinks he deserves and
in the process slights those who are forced to live such a life. In the end he
learns he is no different than anyone else as he looks for the meaning of life.
What does it take to be more than the every day, more than the
ordinary?
I
have seen some ordinary people do incredible things. I dare say there is no one
who would disagree that firefighters, law enforcement, healthcare workers and
emergency care workers are not doing something extraordinary in the middle of
the mundane. These are not superstars or celebrities. They are like you and I
fighting to live a life fulfilled. They try to bring meaning to life.
There
are days when I feel insignificant and worthless. At times it seems existence
is meaningless. That is the negative forcing itself upon the circumstances of
the moment. Interestingly, I am incredibly aware this isn’t true when I see
disaster striking on the news in some area of the world. Lives are torn up and
apart and even destroyed by terrorist groups, natural disasters and at the
hands of people losing their minds. Suddenly, I realize my circumstances are
only relative to me. Everyone feels and hurts. Therefore, it becomes easier to
turn things around and see the better side of the coin and embrace a positive
stance. Suddenly, life isn't so bad.
But
when living in the moment and experiencing that which is never easy,
how does one reconcile oneself to be more than what is and feels quite
ordinary? While thinking about this I made a list of all the regular, average
and uninteresting jobs I have had throughout the years. Amazingly, I worked in
a lot of low level jobs. I also felt I was going nowhere really fast despite
knowing what I was supposed to be doing with my life. It’s just that the
reality of it all interferes with moving forward so that you can take care of
responsibilities here and now. As my mother would have said, no one owes you a
living; no one is going to hand you everything on a silver platter.
It’s a lot
to consider, but here are some of the jobs that helped make me who I am today.
Sales
Booth, Videographer, Assembly line manufacturing mass transit lighting fixtures,
Warehouse for cement flooring, File Clerk, Executive Assistant, Money Wire
Transfer, Administration,
Receptionist, Day laborer, Human Resource Recruiter, Store Stocker, Call
Center Representative, Training & development Manager, Trainer, Audio
Visual technician, Curriculum
builder, Dancing Chicken on side of the road, Cartoon Characters, Blob of
toothpaste, Delivery driver for reprographics, Convenience store clerk, Choreographer,
Director, Actor/Singer/Dancer,
Company manager, Assistant to General Manager (Banking, Payroll, Contracts), Singing
telegrams, Retail clerk, Balloon decorator, Telemarketing, Graphics, Marketing,
Writer, Newspaper apprentice, Laundry worker, Busboy, Food server, Fast Food
cook, Janitorial worker, Destination Management and many more (I’m sure).
I
list these jobs to remind me of the ordinary and how I made the most of each
opportunity to make some kind of living and survive while I was endeavoring to
pursue my dreams. It IS ordinary, but in the end when you come through it and
can achieve, it becomes extraordinary!
We may have dreams, goals, ambitions and things to accomplish, but along the way
we will always have to face the every day. How do we make the every day more
interesting and extraordinary?
- By being the best we can possibly be in the here and now with what we are doing.
- By making the most of the situation and in knowing that this is not all there is.
- By believing in yourself and what you have to offer.
- By realizing there is always various paths that will get you where you need to go.
- By being you and aiming for the best possible outcomes.
We
may have to slop of few farm animals, hoe a few rows and take out the trash
before we get to where we want to be, but that doesn’t make us any less than
who we are, want to be or can be. Once we realize this, we can put
on our best smile and whistle a little more frequently. Faith, perseverance and
persistence is what helps make a person extra…extra-ordinary!
Here
is a link to the song Extraordinary.
If you are daring enough you can try out the second link and sing along karaoke
style. Have fun!
Be Extra…Extra-Ordinary in the every day~!
Cheers!
No comments:
Post a Comment