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Out-do your Ordinariness

We all are unique, even identical twins have a uniqueness about them. It is in their personality. It is in your’s too. We are ordinary human beings, most of us living ordinary lives. Yet some have lived extra-ordinary lives. These people have gone from ordinary to extra-ordinary by doing something more. It could be by inventing something that has changed the world. Or perhapsthey have dedicated their life to helping others achieve greatness.Or maybe they have

spent their life dedicated to a cause that has taken hold and changed attitudes. Or maybe they’ve overcome great hardships, or serious illness and have gone on to inspire others to do the same. It could even be that they have simply helped ease the lives of others in hardship by being there for them. Whatever it is these extra-ordinary people have done they more than likely didn’t set out in life to become extra-ordinary. But something changed for them. We don’t have to do fantastic deeds or invent super products or become famous to be extra-ordinary, we can do it in our day-to-day lives.

I recall one neighbour of mine using the contents of her purse to buy food for a homeless pregnant teenager, despite the fact that that was the last of her money for two days and she had a family at home to feed. Her attitude was this teenager’s need was greater than her’s or her family’s and they had extended family they could turn to if needed, the teenager had no-one to turn to. A few days later she put the teenager up in her house until she was able to secure housing for her. A lot of us thought she was mad, trusting her home to a teenager who was known to shoplift, but as this woman said, “that could be my daughter and I’d like someone to look out for her if the worst ever came to the worst“. The girl did rob things from her, small things. The woman’s attitude was still forgiving and understanding, because she explained it away by saying that this poor unfortunate girl was doing what she had learnt to do, take whatever she could get her hands on to secure some sort of future for herself. With a lot of understanding and kind words that girl did stop stealing. That is going to extra-ordinary lengths to help someone, to make a difference. We can all do extra-ordinary things, maybe not the scale of this woman, but we can start small.

When I was a teenager myself and my next brother down used to attend a monthly meeting for the local old folks club as volunteers. I remember my mother encouraging us to go, saying it would be good for us and feeling resentful that she had “volunteered” us without asking us first. I had a ball! The nice thing about pensioners (as they are now called) is that there is very little they haven’t come across in life by the time they reach their current age, and there is very little that shocks them. A teenager on the other hand (especially twenty-five plus years ago) hasn’t had too many life experiences and is much easier to shock! More of the pensioners got a giggle or two from the crowd of ‘newbie’

volunteers who didn’t know how to react to being swung around the dance floor by a feisty seventy year old while being “chatted up” without being rude. It was a great experience for me and I went from dreading going to looking forward to that night every month and I often came away with the feeling that I got more out if it than the pensioners did, despite their assurances. I went from that to joining my local Junior Chamber and learning lots of new skills which consequently helped when I first went job-hunting after leaving school. I joined the parent’s committee of the school my son attended for the first two years he was there. I’ve done many things.There are many things I haven’t done.There are many things I have yet to do.

So what can you do? By being more than we already are we become extra-ordinary. So if you are a person who works hard five days a week, comes home in the evening and put your feet up and watch television every evening and relax at the weekend with the family how can you do more? Volunteering is a great way to do more. Giving of your time even a couple of hours a week can make a huge difference to many of the organisations in this country that are crying out for funding and volunteers. Many sports and youth clubs are looking for leaders to help them – ok it means being

vetted when working with children and old folk, sometimes it means training, but with the training you are gaining new skills too. Like I’ve already said, start small. It can be as simple as smiling at the people you pass on the street and saying “hello“. How many people do that in these days of constantly rushing around? Holding a door open, giving up a seat on public transport for someone more needy than you Putting your phone on silent in public places, like restaurants, shops etc. It can be as simple as spending more quality time with your family rather than just watching television, doing something you’ve been putting off for a long time. It might be volunteering, it might not. But by doing and being more than you currently are and stretching yourself you start to out-do your ordinariness.