This week: On Being Average Edited by: NaNoKit  
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What are you just average at? Does it bother you, or are you okay with it?
Nobody aspires to mediocrity, but what's so bad about being an average person?
This week's Spiritual Newsletter is all about accepting yourself as you are.
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I don’t know about you, but I used to hate the idea of being average. I think no child dreams of a life of utter mediocrity, nor does any parent encourage their offspring to aspire to such a life. Any decent parent will nurture any budding interest and talent to the best of their ability. My mom did just that. It’s how I ended up in various after-school activities with greater or lesser success. She fed my love of reading with regular library trips, provided me with materials for arts and crafts. We weren’t well-off, but she tried her best. She spent countless hours helping me prepare for tests, no matter how busy and no doubt tired she was.
Yet, I am just an average person. There is nothing I truly excel in. I am above average in my academic endeavours, perhaps, having a postgraduate degree and working on my third degree thus far. But I am not a genius. I have not contributed to any life-altering research, done nothing significant to benefit society. I’m simply someone who likes to learn.
I write average stories and average poetry. This didn’t bother me until I began to compare myself with others and believed I fell short. I attempted to alter my style. To be more like those who were admired. Doing so ended all of the joy I felt in writing, and I have still not overcome the writer’s block that naturally caused. I don’t, then, recommend comparing your art to other people’s art. If you love what you are doing, keep on learning and growing in that direction. Sure, it’s always good to try something new, but do it for the right reasons and don’t force yourself to keep on doing it if it doesn’t feel right. Writing is personal, and it ought to come from the heart. It ought to make you feel good. Otherwise, what’s the point?
I can even admit to being less-than-average in more than one thing. I was a good student back in high school, but my German teacher said I had the worst pronunciation he had ever heard in his entire life. Geography was a nightmare. To this day my knowledge of where’s where is distinctly unimpressive.
I had three years of swimming lessons, but I still cannot swim. Nor can this Dutch person ride a bicycle. I used to feel ashamed of these failures. Now I know that it’s not uncommon for Dyspraxic people to have these problems. Considering I am not at all at risk of falling into the water where I live, it’s thankfully not a problem.
After reading the above paragraphs you may feel that I am being down on myself. That I should focus on all the positives. Like, I make a pretty good pasta. And I’m told that I am good at cheering people up and making them feel good about themselves. The question is, though… what’s wrong with being average? What’s actually so very bad about it? What is shameful about being a regular person going about their regular business, feeling quite content with how they’ve ended up?
It is natural to want to be the best we can be, but the truth is that the best we can be may be something that others find unimpressive. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’re happy. That you enjoy your life, enjoy what you’re doing. Prioritise what’s important to you, and you can’t go far wrong.
This goes for our faith, too. It’s completely normal to feel doubt. To question. To fall asleep before you’ve said your prayers. We all get tired, all go through times when sticking to our faith is really, really hard. It’s okay! It’s all part of being human.
Nobody can excel at everything. Not even the people who are most admired by society. We each of us have our strengths and things we are less good at. And some of us, on balance, are simply average human beings. I have made peace with it. It doesn’t make my existence any less valuable.
NaNoKit
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Spiritual: December 22, 2021 Issue [#11134]
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