Exceptions and Economics

Today, I was taken by surprise when I was accused of refusing to be exceptional at anything. I’ll admit, I was shocked, even speechless. At the time, I had no comeback, no retort, I couldn’t even bring myself to reply at all. So I just thought. I sat down and thought about what it meant, to refuse to be exceptional. I thought about what I have been doing, and what I plan to do, and many other things...

And I came up with an answer.

At first, it didn’t make sense, but the more I thought about it, the simpler it became. It all boiled down to economics (thank you, Mr. Peterson). I am good at many things. Singing, swimming, golfing, dancing, writing, math, science, you name it; I’m probably at least halfway decent. My issue is this. How do I choose to specialize. Where do I determine my absolute advantage.

And then I had a revelation. Sometimes, economics can’t explain everything (sorry, Mr. Peterson). Because when it comes to the things that I enjoy, there is no comparative advantage. I can’t let someone else dance for me, or swim for me, or write, or do my math for me. Those things can’t be traded away because they are part of my experience. I have to live for myself, in all areas, because a life isn’t something that can be broken down and traded around.

So, I suppose you’re looking for something more. Maybe you want deeper meaning than ‘live for yourself.’ I’m sorry. I don’t have it. I’ve run out of wisdom to dispense. It’s all I can do to keep my own life in line. Maybe I’m not cut out to be a sage after all.

Catch you on the flipside,

--Random

Light Rambler

I find myself without any grand lesson to leave you with in this blog, so I’m just going to ramble for a while. Perhaps my ramblings will inspire me. Failing that, they might inspire you.

I just finished watching tron Legacy. It is quite an enjoyable movie, albeit not an incredible work of cinema. It also contains some quite fascinating lessons.

“Perfection is Unknowable. It’s impossible and yet it’s right there in front of us all the time.” -Kevin Flynn-

We spend each day of our lives just getting by. We long for an answer to each of our questions, even when those questions aren’t fully formed yet. Our shortcomings aren’t defined by what we cannot do. Rather, they are defined by all the things that we chose to do poorly or not at all.

Perfection doesn’t seek us out. We actively seek it, and it flees from us. As we chase after perfection, our clumsy steps destroy tiny bits of perfect with every footfall. Perfect doesn’t come from being well organized. It’s not a matter of reaching maximum potential. 

Perfection isn’t a constant. Just when we think we’ve reached it, it will change again. That’s why we aren’t perfect, and why we never will be.

Now that my little rant on perfection is over, I think I’ll start in on heroes.

Tron LEgacy has Three main Protagonists: Kevin Flynn, Sam Flynn, And Quorra. Each have distinct traits, and all are working toward a common goal. Yet none of them is really a hero. Sam does what he does because his father never came home. Quorra is the last of her race, alone and hunted in a world that should have been her safe haven. And Kevin, he lives in fear. Fear that his actions will allow his creations to destroy the world, fear that he will lose the love of his son, fear that Quorra, a wondrous being, will be destroyed because of something he did.

Interestingly enough, among these non-heroic protagonists, there is a hidden protagonist: Tron. Though he spends most of the film as a brain-washed baddie, Tron comes to his senses at the end of the film and realizes that he has become something he never should have been.

After that realization, Tron picks up where he left off in the first film, fighting for a cause, a belief. Even when he is alone in his belief he fights on. That is what a true hero does. The story may not revolve around the heroes, nevertheless, they are there. 

In our world too heroes go without their due recognition. Our stories don’t revolve around the people who fight for what they believe in. They revolve around people who fight for money. They closely follow people who’s only skill set involves getting fall-down drunk and not falling down.

Our media chases sensations. They look for perfect stories. Maybe they need to look right at their feet, perhaps perfection is right in front of them. Perhaps it’s in the real heroes out there who do what is right, regardless of the attention they receive. 

Let's take a Walk

Note, this is a mental exercise, and you should not try to actually take this walk. All of this can be accomplished while you are sitting in front of your computer. 

Let’s take a walk. Don’t worry, it won’t take long. You won’t even have to leave your chair. Just relax and follow instructions.

Release all the tension from your body. Drive it out with deep breaths and forceful exhalation. Let your mind wander and expand while you do this. when your mind feels very large, try to push it out of yourself. See if you can make it stand alone, outside of your body.

If you couldn’t do this, you won’t be able to walk with me, but maybe you should keep reading anyway. Who knows? You might learn something. But if you aren’t walking, I’m no longer talking directly to you.

Now that you’re standing outside of yourself, we can start walking. Walk your mind out of your home, and get to the street you live on. If that will take some time, it’s ok. We’ll all wait for you.

Are you at the street? Ok. Take a left, then take the next right. now just walk straight. Feel your steps growing larger with each foot fall. Let your imaginary legs stretch out until you are so massive that you are stepping over two story buildings with every stride. Then grow some more, till you are as tall as the Empire State Building. Just  keep walking. Now your steps are so large that they’ll take you anywhere. 

Walk into the countryside. See all of the fields of crops, see the farmers tending them. Now step further from the city. Step onto the Navajo Reservation. See the desolate beauty of the mesas and the buttes. Absorb the wonder of the huge open space.

Now walk to New York City. Let your ethereal steps walk you right into the skyline, and lean on the Empire State Building as you look at all of the people working their way through the Big Apple. See the pain and the joy, the beating lives of nine million human beings.

Let’s leave the U.S. now. Stroll down into Mexico. See what you can see on your way by. Walk down the Isthmus, and don’t trip on the Panama Canal as you get down to South America. Walk down one coast and up the other. Stroll through the heart of the Amazon if you like.

Cross the Pacific, and take a look at the Sydney Opera House. Walk North to China. Visit Japan. Watch out for mines as you tiptoe through the Middle East.

See Europe in an hour, walk down into Africa. See all the people of the Earth and hear all the languages of Babel. Walk up on Mt. Kilimanjaro and look down at the Serengeti. Let yourself shrink down to a natural size again, and jump from the peak. Fall back into your shell, resting at the computer screen. Open your eyes. Now be honest. How many victims did you see on your journey? How many starving children? How many homeless veterans? How many people who couldn’t pay the rent and moved back in with their parents? Did you even see any of them, or did you just go on the walk to see the sights?

The point is this. We imagine the world as we’d like to see it. We don’t want to go to Africa and see civil wars raging in the jungles. We don’t want to see absolute poverty consuming lives all over the globe. The problem is that those things are real. They exist and they are everywhere. We can’t ignore them. We need to open our eyes to the realities of our world. To the beauty and the atrocity. Are you willing to do so? Are you ready?