Saturday, June 5, 2010

The Importance of Being Unremarkable

This was sent to me this week and seemed to speak to me.  It comes from:   http://www.illuminatedmind.net/2010/05/20/importance-of-being-unremarkable/

The Importance of Being Unremarkable

There is a lot of pressure to do epic things; to achieve amazing, record-breaking success. And it often gets in the way of doing unremarkable, important things.
When I sat down to write today, I was trying to think of something interesting or remarkable to write about. I wanted to share something, but I felt inadequate because I didn’t have anything profound or mind-blowing to say. Nothing innovative or particularly uncommon flowed into my consciousness.
It made me feel pretty inadequate and unuseful. Everything you do is supposed to stand out, be amazing, and mind-blowing, right? That’s the way I feel most of the time.
It got me to thinking, this focus we have of doing great things and living awesome lives is all well and good, but sometimes that can take us away from the really extraordinary, unremarkable things in life. It can cause us to view the meaningful, quiet, unexceptional things we engage in as unimportant or without much worth.
When we’re focusing too much on doing epic shit, we can lose sight of the truly epic things that aren’t outwardly or obviously epic.
Some of those things might be…
  • Spending time encouraging someone to follow their heart, and believing in their potential.
  • Feeling your breath.
  • Taking care of your family and loved ones.
  • Being useful in your business, or serving people in a way that is unassuming and not in a way that seems particularly game-changing.
  • Feeling the ground beneath your feet, becoming aware of the love and abundance that exists in this moment.
  • Creating something that isn’t groundbreaking, but allows you to express yourself authentically and joyfully.
  • Doing what makes you come alive, whether or not it’s unique, unheard of, or at a masterful level.
Sometimes by focusing on having each moment be amazing, you overlook the possibility that each moment is already amazing, without you having to do anything about it.
This is the way I feel much of the time. When I’m trying to make things amazing, I feel stifled by my self-imposed pressure. When I allow things to be as awesome as they are, I feel connected and in touch with their inherent qualities. That’s truthful, genuine awesomeness. It’s not manufactured or forced. It’s beautiful as it is. Already. Right now.
Sometimes the quickest way to change the world is to accept how incredible it already is.
So, when I write, when I coach others, and when I live, I want to focus more on the still, subtle, essential awesomeness that is already there… without me having to try to do anything about it.
I think I’m much happier that way. It takes a lot of the pressure off of being game-changing, epic, and remarkable all the time. Most importantly, it allows those things to unfold in a way that is much more joyful.
Because when you give all of your heart, all of yourself to whatever it is you want to create, you can trust that if something is quietly amazing, only slightly elevating your feet off the ground, that is as it should be. If it shakes the earth from its very foundations, then it does. But trying to create planetary tilting results is often the surest way to keep it spinning firmly on its axis.
I think I’m going to have more faith in the divinely intrinsic remarkableness. I’ll leave it to others to decide whether it’s remarkable or not.