February 9, 2020. Medyka, Poland.
The above is a snapshot I took during a historical reconstruction earlier this year. I was there filming actors playing contemporary youth as they relate to the re-constructors.
The reconstruction itself, including the solder above, was entirely organized by the local passionates of history.
With the lock-down easing I hope to further develop a project based on the events portrayed that day.
Once I focus on something to produce it’s usually that simmingly unrelated events, meetings, thoughts, texts emerge to appear relevant.
That’s the case with something which this morning have came my way:
Synchronistically perhaps, I have just read a text that tries to convince its author that being “average” in life is OK because most of the people vanish without a trace and nobody cares about them anyway. So it’s useless to feel frustrated that one is not accomplished enough to be “above average”.
The text’s reasoning tries to ease the pain of not being “above average” but - it seems - positions the author as somebody who tried to become one. This is written by a person nearing his 90ties. And is applauded as “wise” by his equally senior colleague .
I strongly disagree.
I think that acting in life with the purpose of not being average is … well, not wise. Being exceptional is in most cases the result of an inner “must” that produces exceptional achievements almost as a by product.
Similarly, looking back at once’s life and feeling discomfort from “not being exceptional” shows disrespect to once’s genuine battles, struggles, achievements and failures regardless of their scales.
Now, is it fair to juxtapose unfulfilled ambition against real life struggles? I have an answer to that.
