I've been reading The Courage to be disliked for a few months now. I love how the timing works, I found this book exactly when I needed it. A lot of the concepts in the book have been what I've come to realize during my meditations and the others I was glad to have come across in the book. For a few weeks now I have been thinking about the idea of being ordinary. A few days ago I even wrote about it. In a way to highlight my shortcomings to first of all accept the average person I am. All that's left to do is live. To be in the present and do what you are doing with all your attention. Being focused is my favorite state of being, it's when I'm distracted or have nothing to do that I am at my most miserable. Something for me to work on. Yet the idea of ordinary has been plaguing me for years now. I'm not sure when I came across this idea. School maybe. Irrelevant at this point.
Especially with the social media, everyone wants to be seen as clever, sexy, wise or wealthy. It distracts me from my own life, it's why I've chosen to stay away from all of them. Even posts about these are completely automated. I still occasionally find myself browsing through LinkedIn or Twitter, that's okay. I'm a hypocrite at times too.
So do nothing?
This is something I've questioned too. Lately I've come to realize that having the courage to be ordinary does not mean to do nothing. Quite contrary it's the courage to follow your path regardless of the outcome. To do what are you doing currently with the utmost attention. It's being present to what you are doing, not because of what it'll get you, but to be able to do the task itself. It's how to find happiness in the current moment. For me it's to write every line of code with the utmost attention and pursue any problem with the utmost curiosity. It's to write this blog, as honestly as I want to, not with the hope that someone will find it useful or interesting. Which I doubt they do. That is completely out of my hands, what I care about is the process of writing. And a part of me thinks it'll be of use to one other person. It's the same reason I stream. I like the process of spending a hour or two or three working on something I enjoy in a language I enjoy. To pursue my own bliss. I'd like my kids to one day do the same. Hopefully, much earlier than I could.
You only tend to do nothing when you are trying to do something that you think you should be doing. Stop trying and do what needs doing and simply do what needs doing, I tell you. Even though I myself bitch and moan about it most times.