The lowest common denominator.

How is that a society that goes to extremes to celebrate those among us that achieve beyond all expectations, so universally wallows in the swamp of the lowest common denominator? People that achieve are put on ridiculously high pedestals, out of the reach of the rest of us, while those that hit rock bottom are paraded around as examples proving the rest of us aren't as bad as we secretly think we are. Most of us swim in a soup of forced mediocrity.

Maybe even worse are the people we chose to exalt. The athletes, actors and musicians who are rewarded handsomely for what is often at least in part a freakish genetic gift that no amount of hard work will allow the rest of us to match. But of course, given the chance, we love to watch them crash to the ground, the victims of weaknesses magnified by a level of success that few are or could be prepared for. The meteoric rise and the free fall back into the huddled masses. Boy we love that.

But more often then not it is the tireless advocate that is the true celebrity. The person whose only talent is unlimited commitment. The teacher who devotes every waking hour to engaging reluctant students. The social worker that goes the extra mile to ensure that no one falls through the cracks. The person that spends their entire life doing nothing but good for everyone they encounter with no thought as to what they will get in return. These people do it only for the love of it.

So the real question is: how do I become one of those people? What cause is so great, what inspiration so undeniable that it would break me out of the lazy fog of my current existence? What is it that I find so noble that I am willing to do it no matter the cost? What is it that could spark me to make a small change in the world?

It's not enough to have grand ideas without acting on them. I even lack the grand idea, the focus that will guide me on my way. I jump quixotically from moment to moment, pausing only long enough to express the thought on the surface before moving on to the next. I'm like a hummingbird, absorbing ideas and wondering where and what the next idea is. How do I take a lifetime of absorbtion and find a way to use it?

I find myself to be too interested in too many things to ever be focused for very long.

I can express ideas but can't be patient enough to work through the organizational drudgery that might lead to something more than a random collection of thoughts.

I lack patience. I lack the willingness to endure the hard labors underlying most great things.

From the outside this may appear to be a frivolous bit of handwringing. Compared to many, I may have achieved, and I certainly think outside the confines of the lowest common denomnator. But in that thinking I see the possibilities, the opportunity to do more. Discontent is sown within me, and I yearn for a way to harvest its riches.