Extraordinariness!

Extraordinariness and the pursuit of excellence. Are you fortunate enough to have known one of those special moments…a moment where ability, focus, training, and Grace combine to produce magic? All doubt and fear are swept out of the way, replaced by confidence and infinite possibilities. Athletes, visionaries, missionaries, scientists, performers, political leaders, teachers, clergy, and parents (to name just a few of the many) can all be caught up in what some describe as “the zone”. Maslow termed this state “peak experience”. Csikszentmihalyi calls it “a state of flow”. Flow is a heightened state of awareness present in extraordinary achievement. It has been carefully studied but impossible to manipulate. Sometimes, we experience our ordinariness suffused with a power that is not our own. One minute it's there… as we hear the drummer's solo, an impassioned speech, an apology from a rebellious teen, we hear the message in a homily we longed to hear, we observe the impossible putt on the greens, or the triathlete no one can catch on the bike leg… it's the perfect moment. Then it's gone. In that moment, we are witness to the pursuit of excellence begetting the unimaginable outcome and we are forever affected by it. Then it passes. What do we make of these privileged moments? Are we special because they belong to us? God provides the talent and the way. The pursuit of excellence is itself a gift, a freedom of expression. When surprised by greatness, let us be humbled with awe and remember the Source.
“If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit. Let us not be conceited, provoking one another, envious of one another.” Gal 5:25