me*di*oc*ri*ty
NOUN
The quality or state of being mediocre.
"heroes rising above the mediocrity that surrounds them"
Sigh. And there it is, “heroes rising above the mediocrity that surrounds them,” a storyline that permeates our society and humankind’s history.
First, let me say I love my life. But unfortunately, that hasn’t always been the case. Early on, I read a quote that said, “you were born to do one thing better than anyone else.” Unfortunately, as of this writing, I still can’t find the original quote I remember, although there are hundreds of permutations of the same thought. (Updated. See Reference)
The movie “City Slickers” didn’t help with the iconic scene of the rugged and weathered Curly (Jack Palance) holding up his index finger “One Thing” to the befuddled Mitch (Billy Crystal).
I never found my one thing. Not that I haven’t been looking, I have; in fact, I’m still looking, just not nearly as hard as I once was. The concept of being the best at something led to years of frustration and an eventual conclusion that Theodore Roosevelt was right; “Comparison is the thief of joy.”
I played the typical sports of baseball, basketball, and football in my youth. To help me practice my swing, my dad drilled a hole through a baseball, attached a rope, and spent time after work coaching me on keeping my eye on the ball as he swung it around his head. It worked great until I connected with the ball on a hard-and-fast swing, and the ball hit him between the eyes, breaking his glasses and giving him two black eyes.
In basketball, I wasn’t tall enough. I could play league, but I’d break my big toe in the first game of every season. Football, I wasn’t big enough and running down the field, I got blindsided by someone who was. And on the story goes.
I attended AP English in high school but received barely passing grades after receiving cuts for skipping class to go skiing on powder days. Skiing was a lifelong passion, but I’m a very condition-specific skier. If the conditions are within my range, the mountain had better get out of the way. Unfortunately, Olympic-class skiers can ski on anything. I tried rock climbing; however, the risk/reward was an impairment as my limited hip mobility. Scuba diving, I end up throwing up through my regulator. The other divers and the fish enjoyed the show, but I wasn’t Jacques Cousteau. My favorite dive was a cave, and I realized that I appreciated the cenote so much because there was no water motion and no predators. Yes, I watched every Jaws movie growing up.
I’ve settled into a routine of peak-bagging, and I summit about 40 peaks yearly. Last year (2021), the top peak-bagger on the website I use climbed 660—I ski about 20 days per year. I have friends who ski 100 days per season. Work; medium producer in my region. Granted, I only work 12 hours per week compared to 60 for others, but mediocre when you liken the raw numbers as sales organizations are inclined to do.
I have a wonderful family with four children. I’m above the average there when it comes to procreation. I’ve been married to my beautiful wife for 39 years, so I hit it out of the park. Probably more to her credit than mine that she has put up with me this long.
CrossFit, yeah, don’t get me started. Road biking, I’m in a peloton of one.
My point is in my attempt to find that one thing, I have discovered a truly remarkable life. I walked on the Great Wall of China and stood on top of the Arc De Triomphe in Paris. I ate crab at Fisherman’s Wharf and cliff-dived into Lake Powell. I’ve played horrible golf at Saint Andrews (Jubilee Course) in Scotland and Kissed the Blarney Stone in Ireland. Heli-Skiing in Canada, then eating New York cheesecake in New York (I was pretty good at this one, way above average). Whale watching and riding camels.
I’ll continue looking, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve begun to appreciate the fallacy of the “one thing,” and I’ll settle instead for the journey of mediocrity.
References:
Updated October 25, 2022. The original quote is by Ralph Waldo Emerson, ”Nature arms each man with some faculty which enables him to do easily some feat impossible to any other.” [1] Emerson, Ralph Waldo. “Wealth.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, retrieved 18 Jan. 2021, emersoncentral.com/texts/the-conduct-of-life/wealth/.
Written July 1, 2022.