In Which I Proclaim My Mediocrity

The other day I got the Beverly Hillbillies theme song stuck in my head, which drove me absolutely bonkers for a few hours until I made a concerted effort to rid myself of that ear pestilence with other songs. I tried worship music, I tried some “Purple Rain,” I tried Teddy Swims, but it wasn’t until I was thinking through my 2023 goals that I landed on my old standby James Taylor.

I love all of JT’s songs (except “Sweet Baby James”), and, in fact, every time I hear one of his songs, I’m all, “THIS — now THIS — is my favorite James Taylor song!”, a practice that drives my sister nuts. “They can’t ALL be your favorite song,” she tells me. My sister is the soul of practicality.

But if I had to pick a favorite, it would be “The Secret O’ Life.” There is so much wisdom in that song:

Anyway, after hours of Jed Clampett rattling around in my head, I was ready for another soundtrack, and this one did the trick. And I started thinking about my goals for the year, and one line in the song stuck out: “Try not to try too hard.”

Some might think this is just an attempt at mediocrity, but haven’t we all come out of the gates a little too hard and too fast at life at one time or another? This year, I’m taking it easy. I’m not going to save a million bucks; I’m just going to stop ordering GrubHub every other night. I’m not going to train for a marathon; I’m just going to walk at least 15 minutes a day — even on my worst days I can always find 15 minutes, if not more. (I spend that kind of time in the bathroom plucking my chin hairs!) I’m not striving for a yoga guru’s mindfulness; I’m just going to stop talking to myself like I’m my worst enemy.

See? Try not to try too hard. That’s easy.