In Defense of Average Days
Back when I had an art gallery down in Austin, Texas, one of the things we naturally were able to see was a stream of cars passing by and sometimes parking in front of the store.
With those came the opportunity to see some interesting bumper stickers and other forms of "vehicle decorations."
I am not sure why, but the "Have an Average Day" bumper sticker I once saw has been stuck in my mind for the subsequent 30 years or so. Evidently, it wasn't very popular, as I have been unable to even find any pictures online. Ah well, the nineties...
Perhaps this item sticking in my mind is simply testament to the fact that I am — primarily — a realist who doesn't tend to get off on inflated evaluations of reality. Makes me sound like a pessimist in our positivity obsessed world, I suppose.
Of course, the reality in which we live likely contains far more "average" days than anything else. I mean, if you look at your life, how many of your days are ultimately "pretty average?"
So... our days are typically pretty mundane, and we have pretty "normal" lives, although we tend to remember the exceptional days. After all... it's the being exceptional that makes them memorable, right?
Anyway, today was a pretty average day. Which is actually not a bad thing!
Sometimes I can't help but think that we have been so "overtrained" in this whole concept of "exceptionalism" that we lose our ability to appreciate the joy of simply having an "average" day on which nothing particularly good or bad happens.
I remember having the discussion about "awesomeness" with a friend, a while back. In her world, pretty much and and all things were characterized as "awesome," unless they truly were rock bottom bad. I called her out on this, so a debate ensued.
If you think about it, if you're constantly declaring everything to be "awesome," then nothing is actually awesome because you have just made awesome "the norm." Which means it is no longer special.
Hand out your superlatives with care!
Whether you believe in such stuff or not, it brings me to the next — perhaps slightly strange and woo-woo — item on today's agenda, which is past lives.
If you've ever sat with someone who who's into the examination of (possible) past lives, they invariable remember that they were Alexander the Great, or Cleopatra, or Napoleon, or Julius Caesar in a past life. Have you noticed that pretty much nobody talks about being an impoverished shepherd who died of cholera at age 28?
And yes, I have had so-called "past life regressions" done — because I have hung around the spiritual self-improvement industry too long! — and sometimes folks have tried to pin famous historical figures on me... even though my actual recollections are of being a fisherman in Ireland, drowning in a dungeon because I had "dared" to speak to a noble and being a blacksmith.
But — to bring the bunny back around — IF past lives are a thing, isn't it much more likely that we were just some "perfectly average" individual than some famous historical figure? The latter just sounds like pandering to people's egos...
Thanks for stopping by, and have a great weekend!
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Created at 2025.07.12 09:45 PDT
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A song about average days from late-90s swing revival band. Lyrics
I prefer average days. They tend to be less tiring than horrid days or wonderful days.
I remember when "neat" and "cool" were the common superlatives. The first time I heard "awesome" was in the early '80s, and it continues to be used to describe events or items that are definitely NOT awesome. I am reminded of an expression from about 100 years ago: "It's the cat's pajamas." It doesn't make much sense, but I prefer it to "awesome" when describing something that impresses me.