Break Free From The Prison of Mediocrity

Mediocrity is the modern prison cell that we voluntarily lock our selves into. Without going down a rabbit hole of conspiracy and the deeper source of mediocrity, we can all agree that mediocre thoughts and paradigms are the statusquo and the currency of our modern life.

We barter in mediocrity every second that we are not crystal clear about the state of our mind and the precision we make decisions from.

Every distracted scroll, every time our attention is diverted against our will, every time we are entertaining thoughts and feelings that don’t serve the impulse of our soul, we are living in a cell of mediocrity.  There are, of course, varying degrees of intensity, and we should be careful to assume that only the most overt and obvious actions lock us in our cell, but vigilant to the subtle and secret nature that mediocrity wraps its tentacles around our heart when we aren’t looking.

In essence, any small act that defers our own lucid and autonomous decision making power is reinforcing mediocrity.  

Step by step we are guided into the fog of mediocrity and before we know it we are slightly, or severely jaded, walking, waking, and sleeping in patterns, and the have been numbed to the nurturing caress of the timeless.

Your relationships have lost their edge.  Your partner no longer brought the joy and freshness they once brought.  Your work has become boring and you’ve forgotten even what you’re doing it for.  Even something as well intentioned as a yoga practice can take the shape of mediocrity and become a mechanical repetition of postures and empty ritual.

Our minds tend to settle into the arrogance that we know something.  A been there, done that, attitude that automatically cast judgement on a person, a place, a job or a practice, in clever and subtle ways, no doubt, but enough so that we remove ourselves from the alive immediacy in the heart of the moment.

Life is an upward battle, and to break through the gravity of mediocrity takes a velocity born of the rocket fuel of passion to propel us into the great space of our true freedom.   In the most benign instances, mediocrity makes life seem somewhat boring and begets a type of secret apathy; in the most malignant cases it envelops a whole life lived in bitter regret.

But you KNOW life is more.

You can taste there is BRILLIANCE all around you.

Your heart tells you that there is GREATNESS inside.

Yet you’re mind quips, yeah yeah, enough already, I’ve heard it all before.

The way to free ourselves then, can only be through the overriding of the mind.  Sometimes, when we've gotten too far into the a detour of emotional ambivilance and swerved from the purpose of our lives, a force pushes us into greater awareness in startling and jarring ways.  Throwing us into a motorcycle accident.  Slamming our bodies under a bus.  We cut our finger chopping vegetables.  A job is suddenly lost.  A loved one tragically dies.  In every case, we are shaken so deeply that we begin to see things from a different angle.

It is possible to wake up without the shock though.  In small, but profound ways that everyday bring us back to the innate majesty of life and remind us of our true hidden power and blemish-less positivity.

Noticing the sound of the music, in all its textured brilliance, strumming at the very air around us, vibrating our cells, dancing from the sea of infinity itself.  Finding those small moments of fascination, the wonder and the mystery hidden in the mundane and simple. When we can find the universal intelligence presenting itself in microform as we make a cup of coffee, to see the complexity and grace woven into an awe filled arising of the present moment. Or in the reckless abandon that an ocean wave hurls itself at the seashore, a glorious  and fearless celebration of its short and unique expression.

When we find small moments in the day that inspire awe we should value them deeply.

Awe opens a new dimension within us where we can again see things with the eyes of a child.  Where our crusted conceptions of the world fall away and the innocent joy and hope of the child come alive within the heart of our day.

As we cherish these moments, not for their content, but for the inner state they produce, for the revelation of an intimate and raw connection with the life force itself, then we begin to come in contact with our original power and purity.

In these moments, our jaded self fades away, the walls of the penitentiary of mediocrity start to dissolve, and we glimpse the truth of our deeper nature.  As we experientially affirm that this true nature is always free, that it has just been waiting for us to see and awaken to, then we are stirred with a liberating conviction that we are born of joy and possibility.

The shackles begin to fall away and we are convinced from this place of intimate recognition of the sublime that we are in tune with the very creative power of the universe. From this place, where our hardened mind is destabilized and our malleable nature stirs, there is a river of continuous power at our disposal.  No longer fearful of what others will think, nor bound by the chains of mediocrity, we revel at our original freedom and are compelled to live our lives with conviction and celebration.

Slowly, with practiced repetition, we are able to live longer and longer from this new perception that is reawakening us to the original and profound nature of every single moment of life.

It begins to work on every other aspect of our being. The more we taste the joy of being in an intimate relationship with every moment of our lives, the more we recognize that we are in the middle, swimming, in the most profound and ineffable substance, and are overwhelmed with both gratitude and a renewed sense of mission and purpose.  

Whatever the teleological end goal is for your life, it will only fully be accomplished from this place of deep recognition of the intrinsic splendor of every moment of life.  And frankly, however grand your teleological goal may be, if it is not marinated in the recognition of the great mystery of life, then it is probably the stuff of mediocrity itself and soon to be forgotten.

With the alive and lucid recognition that every breath we take is as breathtaking as the flight of an eagle over our heads, let’s start that project; recognizing that every great idea in our hearts are as awe-inspiring as a humpback whale breaching the surface of the ocean, begin that book; with the acknowledgment that every touch of our lover is a timeless honoring of the very heart of love, embrace your partner as if it was your last day on earth and a drink in a single kiss as if you were drinking in the sunrise from the peak of a Himalayan mountain.

Our life is sacred and meant to be honored. Allow the sacred nature of life to permeate into the core of your heart and reawaken what has fallen asleep.  Once awakened we know we are never separate from the heart of life itself and are endowed with the inherent power of the universe.  From this poise, dive into your life and unhesitatingly share with the world your golden discovery.  Trust me. It’s waiting for it.