The Nondescript

This, this is the dénouement of what you have been working for, for the last two years. The reverie that you have been chasing in the pursuit of what you call, success. You are slowly falling into an uneasy state of mind for this is the moment that can make or break your dream of being called the Extraordinary. You want your heart to stop the ever increasing noise of its rhythm for you want to hear your name. Does your dream End? Or does it see the light of the day? Well, let’s go for the End. The next thought that takes a safari through your mind is capital O Ordinary. That is what you are. The Nondescript.


What is the definition of Ordinary? Well, the very first thought that comes to mind is a person who cannot spell Over-Achieve. The formal definition is “Not exceptional in any way especially in quality or ability or size or degree”. Both the above mentioned ‘definitions’ pretty much coincide.


Is success the only touchstone to label a person Extraordinaire? In worldly concern, it IS ‘to an extent’ the only yardstick, for we never see a person from the streets of New York being tagged a ‘hero’ for spending 30 days and 30 nights in temperatures which could be as low as -2 degrees centigrade when a magician just got his name infixed into the world records book for spending 63 hours and 42 minutes (to be precise) in an ice block. But when there is a ‘to an extent’ there has to be the other side of the coin. Not taking anything away from the people who deserve it, there would a number of mortals who would be proponents of the theory that Success in fact should not be the measure of potential in a being.


The mere thought for a highly focalized being of not being able to make it to where he sees himself sometime from now can give him the quivers and if he actually doesn’t, Depression, which sometimes leads to suicide. Suicide is a leading cause of death for people worldwide, and one of the three leading causes of death for young people under 25. Every year, approximately one million people die by suicide - one death every two minutes. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that mental disorders (particularly depression and personal unhappiness) are associated with more than 90 percent of all cases of suicide (http://www.iasp.info/wspd/index.php). That pretty much sums up the importance of not giving success the God like stature. So the theme of being a Nondescript is far more unplayful than it seems.


All the souls need to understand that it is OK to be ordinary. In fact, no one has to be ordinary. The skill needs to be shown the sunlight so that it can find its way out. Clichéd? Yes. In worldly concern, the view possesses little rationality, as many would say. There could be a number of reasons that preclude them from believing the fact (view, rather). One would obviously be lack of cognition. Every 6 out of 10 would be of the view that Kangchenjunga and K2 are OK but Everest it has to be, not to undermine the fact that one should always try for the Everest or try to excel in his field. But that field has to be of one’s interest. Proper tunneling would be decent thereafter.


Another agency that could well serve to the purpose is school. Yes, the grass root level.
Parents need to understand the meaning of The best things come in small packages. Take success one step at a time. Do not burden your children to become the best in the future. If he’s interested in what he is doing, he might well do it, but gradually. There are a number of modes of doing this, and force is definitely not one of them.

This could well begin one’s transition from the ordinary to the….(any guesses?). By the end of the transition we will have noticed that the spread between the two provinces has been boiled down to cypher.


This effort is not intended to undermine the value of success. This is just an effort to fortify at least the face-value of what we call dreams.