Defying Ordinary

Defy Ordinary. It's the slogan this year of my Pittsburgh Penguins. Since I get NHL Gamecenter, I do watch the Penguins a lot on FSN Pittsburgh. One of the ad campaigns they do on there is with certain players stating how they define ordinary. Usually what follows is a highlight reel of the things they do. I was at school reading ESPN.com's NHL page when I came across this article by Scott Burnside about former St. Louis Blues GM Larry Bleau: It's an amazing story about Wendy Bleau, his wife's struggle with cancer. During this time, Larry leaned on his employer, and the players, fans, staff grabbed his hand and his wife's hand and pulled them back up on their feet. She went from being stuck in a hospital bed and unable to move to living a somewhat normal life. And if you read the article, you will truly be touched.

But it got me thinking about my life and reminded me of a similar incident. In May, a good friend of mine had shoulder surgery a few weeks before. It was during the time I was heavily invested in the Penguins and the playoffs, and he was constantly sending facebook comments and asking me about the Penguins. Towards the end of the conference finals and in to the Stanley Cup Finals, I was hoping to go over to his place and enjoy something I like and that he was asking about. Give him something else to do besides think about his shoulder. He'd been bed-ridden for a while and was stuck in his house with limited movement. I was glad that during the Cup Finals for Game 3, I got to go over to his place with a friend of mine. I remember when we got to the door, his face lit up like he'd just won a million bucks. We brought some pizza with us, which was perfect because he could eat it with one hand. It was obvious he'd been stuck home alone a long time, even with his girlfriend and other friends helping him. I was personally glad that I got to spend time with him watching something I love. I am not sure if he cared a lot about the game, but to be honest, I don't think it mattered that much. I think that as a human being, it was one of my defining moments, and here's why.

We, as people, are very self-absorbed. If you want evidence, go to a public place. A mall, a restaurant, a public park, anywhere. You'll notice one thing- everyone's got their head down, pushing on, and so often people look as if they are just hurrying along to the next place. You stop and wonder sometimes- does anyone stop and smile, maybe look around and enjoy life a bit? Yeah, I know what it's like to be in a hurry. I was the last few weeks working on my thesis. But it never hurts to look up and smile and say "hi" or say "thanks." If you are at work and you have people over or under you, say something nice. Tell someone they are doing a good job. Defy ordinary. It doesn't take much to turn someone's day around.

I've made it my new purpose to defy ordinary this way at least once. Today I went ice skating and I saw an old woman who was heading off that I didn't know and said hi. It was amazing to see her light up.It's those little things we should try and bring out in the others around us. So, I implore you as I hope to. You don't have to change the world or reinvent the wheel or blaze a new path. Just do something simple. Just defy ordinary.