tumbledry

The Greatest and Most Natural Movement

Though he didn’t sing a single melody, the driver on the 16 this morning had a truly operatic voice — he sounded not like an aspiring amateur, but a world-famous singer. “On top of that, he could easily sit in for James Earl Jones” I thought, as we bumped down University Avenue. Now, perhaps the driver leads a church choir during his evenings and weekends, but I couldn’t help but wonder how many gifts we possess of which we are not aware.

What if the hotel maid riding the bus to work, catching a few minutes of sleep, could be the best painter since Rembrandt? What if the construction worker, savoring a few minutes to rest his back while sitting down, has the timeless gifts of a sculptor? What if we only completely fulfill our potential when we transcend this coil for another?

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Comments

Caley

That, my friend, is deep.

Amber Gehring

Then nobody would drive the bus!

Alexander Micek

That reminds me of a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr.:

If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.

Dan McKeown +1

I believe there are certain things in life that no person is necessarily ‘called’ to do. Street sweeping falls under this category. I believe everyone should do the job that they have to the best of their ability, but never to be satisfied by simply having reached the summit of street sweeping. I would be massively unfulfilled and even depressed should I feel that I have achieved all that there is for me to achieve. If you drive a bus and are an amazing singer, there is no reason why you cannot do both! Likewise, if you are a dentist and are an amazing pianist/photographer/web designer as well cough cough you do not have to keep these things mutually exclusive or even feel if that is all that you can do! Try more things, have more adventures, and I think you may find that you are good at more than driving a bus and singing.

Amber Gehring

I like that quote very much!

Alexander Micek

You are too generous, Mr. McKeown. I like your advice: “have more adventures.” I think that’s one thing I really need to aspire to — I thrive on such a structured, straightforward schedule that if I was willing to give that up for a while, I wonder what things I might see or places I might experience more fully. I could learn violin, or travel somewhere… though I probably couldn’t combine the two.

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