2 Dollars And 99 Cents

I had a very interesting conversation with my nephew today. He told me of his friend's mother who was an artist. Since I am always interested in discovering new artists, I looked her up. As I had suspected (and voiced to my nephew), her talent was housewife-mediocre and consisted of rajasthani ladies, flowers, etc. I was at my snarky best, but my nephew was strangely silent.

I asked my nephew whether he agreed with me or not. He said quietly, "Mausi, you do realize (1) she is doing what she likes and monetizing it, however pedestrian it may be and she has found a way; (2) I am also planning to work with music - I don't know how, but I do, and I may come across many snooty people like you, who will look down on me, because I am not good enough. I know how it feels, so I would like to be kind."

This was humbling coming from a fifteen year old, and I have been thinking about it long and hard.

One needs to be kind and people need to make a living, however, being a critic too is important. I would not like people not to make a living, but I think it is also important for people to be good at whatever they do. Mediocrity probably allows people to pull along and perhaps be happy, but excellence gives satisfaction and a feeling of achievement like nothing else.

Being the queen of mediocrity at a number of things I have done to make a living, I know that it pays the bills, sometimes really well, but also creates dissatisfaction and a feeling of general unhappiness. I hope all my nieces and nephews, try to excel at one thing at least. It needn't be their livelihood, but I think it could be the secret of a happy life.

I would love everyone's comments on this!