Jose Saramago Dies

Who the hell is Jose Saramago, says the average person?

and I have no right to judge.

I would have been average too, had I not been forced to read his book, The Cave. That statement is false. I'm probably average either way. Anyway, I didn't particularly enjoy reading it. In fact, I never did read the full book, but there's something about death that just compels one to look again, to read again, to find meaning in someone's work -- What was he trying to say? What was the message he left for us all? Did he ever find anything beautiful in this world?

I haven't gotten to rereading the book, but from what I remember, it was about what was real and what was not. What was artificial, the need to conform, the need to be original and the burning desire to live as one sees fit, a struggle to preserve one's identity, and a fight to exist.

Now I know all that seems pretty wishy washy and I admit, I probably would have been able to give a more concrete analysis had I actually read the book thoroughly, but honestly, I think it's quite boring to have someone else place structure on something that you should probably figure out yourself. Of course, I haven't exactly given you a good enough reason (or shall I call it advertisement) for you to go, get the book, and start to read, but, I assure you, you will not be disappointed... and if you are disappointed, well, what can I say? Suck it up, buster. Life is full of disappointments and that's a cliche that will never EVER go away.

So what's the point of me mentioning this author other than the fact that he was a good writer and had a message for the world? Well, I guess what I want to discuss, and what I've been struggling with for a while, is the idea of mediocrity.

How does one define mediocrity?

Well, dictionary.com defines it as:

–noun, plural -ties.

1.

the state or quality of being mediocre.

2.

mediocre ability or accomplishment.

3.

a mediocre person.

HM... it seems the better option is to type in MEDIOCRE:

–adjective

1.

of only ordinary or moderate quality; neither good nor bad; barely adequate.

2.

rather poor or inferior.

And. Let's not forget our best friend, wikipedia: And we get. the mediocrity principle. which is really interesting, so I'll leave the link, but not really related to this post: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediocrity_principle

So, according to dictionary.com, something mediocre is something average but barely so. Well, the term used is adequate and since we all know that the average person is barely adequate, I guess it's a false statement to say that something mediocre is barely average. But really, the previous statement is faulty as well and since it would probably take a while to do anything with the vague definition given, let's just skip all this (I know, I'm not particularly in the mood to do anything but rant so forgive the lack of even the small bit of intelligence I think I usually have) and just go by gut instinct. Being mediocre is, in short, being invisible.

Regardless of innate talent, hard work, perseverance, or one's personal values on life, mediocrity is the state of not being known. I'm not saying one has to be super famous and in the spotlight all the time, because as an intelligent, above average person like you might argue, many in the spotlight are mediocre. But, I'm trying to explore a side of mediocrity that people rarely try to define because it's scary. No one wants to be mediocre. So, what do I mean by being invisible? By that, I mean the inability to use one's talents to change the world. Does that sound cliche? I assure you its not, because the truth of the matter is, most people don't have the talent to change the world much less the ability to use those talents. Here already, are two sides of being average and boring and dull. 1) you are just born that way. 2) you had some potential but due to some circumstances, probably your own inner weaknesses, you are unable to manifest those talents.

In the first case, one has no use except to be a construction worker. That is, in essence, manual labor for another that is talented or to act as the weaker counterpart in a comparison that glorifies the other, the talented individual. The second is the sad act of neglecting oneself and allowing one's brains to literally turn into mush.

Now the first case, what can you do about being born less talented? Not much. Work hard and you will accomplish something, at least. You will be a good worker, have a better life, be a good parent, etc. But what does it mean to be more than that, to rise out of mediocrity into a different plane in which one is free from the average banter and can actually do something? That is left for the few talented individuals around the world.

Now, I feel like a lot of people assume that they are average. And for most of them, that is true. However, there are a lot more talented people in this world than the few that have become visible. Why is that? Why does a potentially amazing person just shrivel up and die and become part of the masses, a construction worker, so to speak?

I suppose, at first, it doesn't sound too logical (or maybe it does?). If you have gold, why bury it? Why not spend it? or Invest it? Why hide it away and act poor?

I don't think anyone truly knows what they're capable of until they reach for their limits. That is, they try. They work hard. This is true for anyone. Without hard work, no matter how endowed a person is, he is bound to fail. So why does the potential world changer choose to fail? Well, it's because of the potential. Here again, are already two sides to this argument.

1) The individual realizes he has more potential than his peers and fails to cultivate his talents as a result of laziness and arrogance. That is, he believes he will always be better than the people around him. And so, he fails. I was watching a Korean drama and this proverb came up: Though some are born knowing it, others know by learning it and still others struggle to learn it, the knowledge obtained is the same. The average man who works hard will be able to obtain a large amount knowledge even without talents, perhaps, slower than the talented individual who tries, but up to a certain point, he can learn. Here in, the lazy, endowed one fails, because he fails to build the fundamentals that all people, regardless of talent, can learn. Thus, he becomes less that mediocre. Can he dig himself out of this mediocrity? Yes, he can. Does he? In most cases, no. He has lost the time to build a solid work ethic and as an adult, lacks the will power to change his habits. Or in the saddest of cases, his brain has rotted away. That is, he has now truly become average. In the rare case that the individual does dig himself out of the pit, he will perhaps become greater than even the originally hard working individuals around him, because he knows the true value of hard work and the rampant struggle out of the mediocrity. This, however, rarely happens.

2) The individual is afraid of being mediocre, so he doesn't try. Now, that doesn't seem to make sense for most people. If someone is talented, then why wouldn't he try? Why would he choose to be mediocre if he's afraid of being mediocre? Well, the reason is simple enough. Though a lot of people start out above average, the truth of the matter is, not all of them are really... talented. They are just normal people who are more efficient construction workers, so to speak. So, some of the world changers are lost because they never really want to know what their limits are. They are afraid to try and then realize that they are just as mediocre as their average neighbor. For them, being mediocre and having potential is better than trying to realize that potential and finding that that potential wasn't that great. Having potential and not utilizing it is a means for them to ward off their own inner doubts of mediocrity. That is, they often think, "I might not have accomplished A like Person A, but if I had tried, I would have accomplished it and more, but since I'm lazy, I couldn't accomplish it." because they don't want to face, "I can't accomplish A like Person A because I am less talented than Person A."

3) The talented individual wants to live a quiet life, away from visibility. A famous quote by Jack Kerouac goes like this: "All our best men are laughed at in this nightmare land." (And if you don't know famous American author and poet Jack Kerouac, here's the link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Kerouac). The fact of the matter is, the visible individual is a lonely one. Even his close friends, his construction workers, they are bound to envy him. Envy leads to fear. And if I may quote my good friend Yoda, "Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering" So this act of rising out of mediocrity not only is a matter of talent or of hard work but of deep courage and audacity.

And I could go on and on, but the truth of the matter is, I doubt anyone will actually read all of this and if someone does take the time, I hope he or she will offer his or her own thoughts to this rant of mine.

Until the next time I post,

bye bye.