One Among Many

Finding Freedom from the Fear of Being Ordinary

Dear Reader,

Today I found myself struggling to discover a topic to write about. As I sat quietly, waiting for inspiration, four simple words came into my mind:

"The Fear of Being Normal."

At first, the phrase seemed almost contradictory. After all, don't most of us long to be accepted? Yet the more I reflected, the more I realized that many of us spend much of our lives trying to be anything but ordinary.

From childhood we are encouraged to dream big.

We are told that we can become anything we want if we study hard, work hard, and never give up. We are taught that success is measured by accomplishments, recognition, promotions, trophies, degrees, and the admiration of others. The possibilities seem endless, and we begin to believe that our worth somehow depends upon becoming exceptional.

I believed that too.

Over the years I earned college degrees, collected silver trophies, and was fortunate enough to travel to remarkable places. Even today I can look at those mementos and smile with gratitude. They represent meaningful chapters in my life.

Yet, if I am honest, none of those achievements ever satisfied the deeper longing within me.

Each accomplishment brought a moment of happiness, but never the lasting peace I was searching for. The applause faded. The trophies gathered dust. The diplomas found their place on the wall. Still, something inside me whispered that there had to be more.

I now understand that I wasn't really searching for success.

I was searching for significance.

Unable to fill that emptiness, I eventually turned to alcohol and drugs. For a while they gave me the illusion of confidence and relief, but they only deepened the loneliness I was trying to escape. My desire to become "special" gradually led me to a place where I felt anything but special. My life had become one of fear, loss, and despair.

Then, by the grace of God, everything began to change.

I was introduced to a program of recovery.

There I discovered something I had never expected.

No one cared about my trophies, my education, my failures, or my titles. They cared only that I was willing to be honest. I found people who understood my struggles because they had walked similar paths. They welcomed me, not because I was extraordinary, but because I was one among many.

That simple truth became one of life's greatest gifts.

Recovery taught me that my value does not come from standing above others, but from standing beside them.

Service slowly replaced self-centeredness. Listening became more important than being heard. Encouraging someone else became more fulfilling than seeking recognition for myself.

The world often tells us to become important.

God quietly invites us to become useful.

King Benjamin taught:

"When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." 
— Mosiah 2:17

I have found that to be wonderfully true.

Today I no longer fear being ordinary.

In fact, I have discovered that an ordinary life, lived with faith, kindness, and service, is anything but ordinary.

Every quiet act of compassion, every word of encouragement, every hand extended to someone who is suffering becomes part of something far greater than ourselves.

Perhaps the greatest freedom comes when we stop asking, "How can I become someone special?" and begin asking, "Whom can I help today?"

That single change has filled the emptiness that success never could.

I have come to believe that we are already known by God, already loved by God, and already precious in His sight. We do not need to earn our significance.

We simply need to share His love with one another.

In the end, I have found there is no shame in being one among many.

Sometimes, that is exactly where miracles begin.

  🙏🧘‍♂️💕🤗☮️