Dallas CSI

Ordinary or Extraordinary
What does living in extraordinary times really mean? This distinction suggests there are times that are not extraordinary … which leads to the perfectly logical question of which one is accurate about today? Is 2009 ordinary or extraordinary? In 2014, will 2009 be remembered as ordinary or extraordinary? Look back to 2004, was it ordinary or extraordinary? Are the good times ordinary or extraordinary, or, are the bad times ordinary or extraordinary?

When I was younger and much more uncertain of my future, there were two admonitions that, like you, I never really cared to hear from those that were three or four decades older. The first was when I would carry on and on about something that I just knew I was the only one to ever experience, I would be told that I would grow more during the difficult years than the smooth years, and I would discover who I was capable of being and what I was capable of doing. Needless to say, youthful invincibility denied that we would ever have to go through the same battlefields of life as the previous generation did.

The second was the always pesky and frequently bestowed admonition that things could always get worse. What does that mean? We were never able to see past the self-centered view of our own life to ever believe ‘it could get worse.’ Why would anyone ever be thankful for the difficult times strictly because they were not worse than they were? Again, youthful invincibility would convince us that things were that bad then – they simply could not get worse.

We naively believed we could shape our own destiny and that we would be able to control the events around us. Did it happen that way for you? It did not happen that way for me.

Now, many of us are those that can measure our lives in numerous decades rather than in mere years. And yes, in spite of our youthful desire to think we were already wise beyond measure, we now see we were far from it. And yes, we have discovered that every day is no longer ordinary, and we see it as it really is – extraordinary. We are wiser specifically because of what was learned from the life experiences that we could not see would shape us.

Whether we believe we are in ordinary times today or extraordinary times is not the issue, the real issue is about how we perceive ourselves in whatever situation we find ourselves sailing through or fighting through. For many of us, this year is one of the times we have to fight through. We all know that we will return to whatever our ‘normal’ was even if we have to create a new version that differs from the previous years.

We have learned that the challenge is to make every ordinary day, week, month, or year into an extraordinary day, week, month, or year. These are the times when we have to keep a positive attitude and invest a seemingly excessive amount of effort into converting anxiety into constructive discontent. We are surrounded by an abundant life, a freedom to pursue whatever we desire, family and good friends, good health, and we have knowledge that we do not have to fear each day because it is another opportunity to excel and achieve infamy, even if in our own mind.

With the exception of something catastrophic happening which unfortunately is part of the reality of our world today, we have learned that things always get better again, we will all have jobs again, we will feel worthy again, and we will all be happy again. Whether you go fishing, clean the garage (yet again), buy lunch for a friend, or read a really good book … move forward, grow mindfully, expand your horizons, make progress, be constructive. Do not under any circumstances let the fear, anxiety, chaos, and darkness of today define you as anything other than the person you aspire to be.

And because I have learned that over the decades, that my dear friend is my message for you … or maybe admonition.