Making Sense

Normalcy isn't normal. It's better.

Really? That can't be right. Normal, everyday life being spectacular and special? Why would that be such a celebration? If anything, why should we be so exuberant over our daily, banal routines that only become fun at 5 p.m. on Fridays?

I find myself without a true, definitive answer myself but a certain feeling that I know it's true. Let me see if I can even figure this out.

This summer, my father, a supportive, good dad (who, like all men, have their own faults), suggested I read a book titled Not Fade Away by Peter Barton. Before Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie and Randy Pausch's heart wrenching swan song The Last Lecture, Barton wrote his story right before succumbing to stomach cancer at 51, leaving his wife and three young children behind.

I won't give away the entire book or spend hundreds of words reviewing it, but the message is clear; there is a simple, intrinsic beauty in the everyday world.  There is so much we can achieve, appreciate, and understand if we just pay attention once in a while and look around our surroundings.

Now, I'm not, in any circumstance, talking about the narcissistic, self-serving motto of "living life to the fullest" with "no regrets" that so many people possess today.

Or am I?

Well, kind of. I guess what I'm trying to say is that with the right outlook on life and motives and just passion, we really can pack in so much into our daily lives. That ferocity of taking calcuated (but not dumb!) risks and truly working towards something we feel strongly about makes that supposedly mundane so special, and makes your overall life that much worth living.

That's how Peter Barton was able to die content and happy at 51 years old.  That's how Randy Pausch was able to do the same at 47.

That's how you and I can do the same, too.