About The Virtue of Being Garbage
Post 315:
Everybody likes to do what they’re good at. Mostly, anyway. There’s always the too much of a good thing conundrum, but we’ll let that go for the moment.
It’s fun to do something well. I reckon that part of the excitement is simply in the discovery of the gift that you possess. I remember playing the drums on a kit for the first time. I could do a basic beat the first time I sat down. It didn’t make me John Bonham, but I had the knack and I knew it. That’s a rush.
More often than not, we wish we could do what we’re good at. Some are more gifted than others, but everybody’s good at something. It doesn’t have to be exciting. The proficiency is what gets the juices flowing. Exerting some sort of power that others don’t possess and can’t understand.
It’s a bit narcissistic if you drill down, but only a little bit. Give yourself a break and let it rip.
This leads me to my real topic: being crappy. For most of us, this describes our relationship to the majority of things. I can’t cook worth a damn, I’m not handy in the least, not good at social mixers. I’ve tried pottery and failed, photography doesn’t come natural, and the list goes on forever…
When I was growing up, my closest friends all really liked basketball. We played all the time. Pretty sure I was the last person anyone wanted for their team. It’s just not my sport. I hated to admit it, but the proof was in the playing. Too short, no real understanding of the game—pathetic comes to mind.
Only it wasn’t. I wasn’t. I loved to play just as much as them. Maybe more.
Why? Because they were better than me and always would be. It was actually fun. I had to hustle more, play the underdog—all that pull yourself by the bootstraps crap. I reveled in the role.
What am I saying here, in the end? Simple. Sucking isn’t so bad. Try things that you’re not good at—that you’ll never be good at. It will do three things. You’ll appreciate the things that do come natural. Also, it’ll give you an appreciation for the people that are good. Third, you might learn to enjoy the sensation that you did your best and gave what you could. There’s nothing immoral in that. We all need humility and good round spirits. It can’t be an all-day laugh fest with your favorite hobby, twiddling your mustache and looking down on the rest of the world.
Maybe work on a regimen for that. I recommend looking down on the world four to five days a week. Tops.
Go on then. Try something new and be… terrible! Cheers and see you after.
