EPIPHANY OF THE DAY

 STRUGGLES

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. once wrote an interesting piece about working hard at something you’re not good at. The idea is counterintuitive, contrary to what some great thinkers said. Joseph Campbell, for example, wrote that we should follow our bliss. Shouldn't we concentrate on what energy and talents we have in areas of our strengths and talents?

 It makes me think of my own life. Are there examples therein?

 I once tried architecture. I was horrible at it, but I learned that fitting an idea to its setting was not only sublime, but functional. I learned lessons about such ideas as articulation, modulation, balance, and form that can relate to almost all professional endeavors. I also become an emotional companion to some of the most wonderful expressions of creativity ever imagined by humans. To follow our bliss, mustn't we first have to determine what bliss is?

I tried sports and was terrible at it. But I learned that it’s okay to be knocked down and lose as long as you get up and keep going. I learned that fear is transitory if you will it so.

I tried music and was terrible at it. But I learned that to strive to get a little better at something each day is of more value than seeking to be an overnight success. I learned that prodigies aren't good teachers. Prodigies say, "Just do it. That's what I do. That's all there is to it." The good teachers are the ones who have struggled to become good at it and are best friends with hard work. And, of course, I learned that nothing can heal like music.

What was I ever good at? I don’t know. Not much I guess, except picking friends and finding a wife. Oh, and I learned that one way to be successful in a profession is to be willing to do the things that others don't like to do. Usually these are things that it is hard for anyone to be good at. In my profession, it also involves the ability to see the good and beauty of places that history has treated unfairly, places most people find deplorable, places where people must pick themselves up and continue the struggle.