02.21.10

02.21.10, originally uploaded by colemama.

There's little about this photograph that makes it out of the ordinary - a typical black crow on the rooftop of a beige concrete building. The brilliance of the cloudless blue sky does provide a nice backdrop from which to 'take center stage', but hardly a rarity. But I keep coming back to some thoughts that @dcosand shared with a recent photo posting, including the quote of George Washington Carver, "When you can do the common things of life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world."

My slant on the topic is twofold - one, that too often we make choices based on 'status symbols' and two, that we all have the power to 'make the ordinary extraordinary.'

Choosing a career is much more difficult than taking a job, of course...but so few of us think first of how our true passions can guide us. Instead, we are often influenced by the pay scale, others' hopes and dreams, and what society may deem as 'important'. More than thirty years ago, oral historian Studs Terkel wrote Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do - he brings a respect and dignity to work, in general, and offers insight about work and passion via 'everyday people' - all doing valuable work.

A daily challenge seems to be turning the 'ordinary into the extraordinary'... and not necessarily in competition with others, but rather as a continuous improvement goal, a strive for one's personal best, 'stretching' to grow and to recognize the simplicity of our complex world. 6th Ave S & 8th St, Naples, FL