FYI Humans are not the biggest, strongest, or fastest things on the planet

Bears are bigger, stronger, and faster, than you. And me. I know as I’ve met a number of bears growing up in my beloved temperate coastal rainforest of British Columbia on the West Coast of Canada. Particularly while walking the 15-20 minutes to the bus stop through forest paths and down a dirt road.

What we can be is really good at working together, at collaborating, at helping each other be so much more than any one person could be alone.

There is the myth of the ‘self made man’. He was raised by family (or wolves, but then he still would have to thank the wolves), in a system with advantages of one degree or another.

Case in point, anytime you see someone who is really really doing well? They’ve had help. The fact is, we don’t do any of this alone. Our very successes are built on the legacy and assistance of all who came before, and we build the ground for all who come after.

This is directly applicable to life, Google Plus (social media), interaction, and engagement. If you try to be the biggest, the strongest, the fastest, on your own merit, without acknowledging others and being part of the greater reality of cooperation, collaboration, and wondertastical mirth and awesomeness? You can stand on the side of the road and have your photo taken by all of the tourists driving by on the bus. While you eat fermented apples and stumble around in a semi-drunk state. And then end up on youtube.

Where am I going with this? See the tea below? I ran out of tea almost a month ago and my friend +Julian Ortiz (the finest Argentinian photographer living in Washington DC that I know 😉 ) sent a tea-laden care package to Halifax for me. Thanks Julian! This photo is from today, I’m drinking that tea right now.

My world is so much better (and tastier right now) for having met and interacted with Julian around our shared passions of photography and yerba mate. I love checking out his photos and get stoke and wonder from them!

There there’s +Gene Bowker who has a passion for photography, and trains!, and helping facilitate community here on G+ with his circle shares of photographers based on the letters of their first name, and the fact that they share their passion of photography here regularly!

Today he shared his ‘Google Plus Photographers – Letter J‘ list

In that list you’ll find myself and Julian.

I’m kinda not a bit deal. I’m just a dude with a camera chasing the stoke and awesomeness of life, hoping to encourage others  (and myself!) to more realize how wonderfully gifted and talented all of us are. We all have so much potential, so much wonder, inside of us, waiting and wanting and longing to jettison forth for world embetterments.

And that can be intimidating, and frightening, and ‘oops I just peed a bit at the thought of it’. Which is how it is, for most all of us, at times. Especially if we think we have to be the biggest, the strongest, the fastest. But we don’t. Not at everything, all at once, forevers.

The fact is that each and every one of you does many many many things better than me. I’m a 32 year old bachelor who used to teach outdoor education and lead multi-day trips into the wilderness. Do you know what this means? It means most of my cooking ends up in one pot and usually involves let’s add trail mix and see what happens!. I would hazard a guess that most of you score higher on the ‘Food Wizardy’ index than I do. It could be said that you would kick my ass in that field. Heck, I once googled how long to boil and eggjust to be sure. My friend’s son in Hope BC is 8 and learning to play piano. I supervised his practice last time I was there (in late May) and he, asking me to help, couldn’t believe that he played piano better than me. Well I’ve never taken a single lesson. He, at 8, could teach me.

We all know a lot of stuff! And we all know very little in other areas. And this is cool! Because a) we can’t know it all, b) we won’t know it all, c) we can help share our knowledge/experience/passion/skills with each other and that’s fantastic! (Insert visual of Ewoks partying after the Death Star gets blown up here)

In summation, there is a world of stuff all of us can’t do and don’t know. There is a world of stuff we do know, do well, and can rock out. If you really want to know or do something, you can probably learn it. Rather than focus on what we don’t know and see ourselves as lamers for it, realize that you know way more than me on lots of things, and can teach, share, learn, and rock out your unique person and path in freaking glorious ways today. Cause frankly, you’re awesome. And I’m way better for knowing and engaging with you.

Because if two or three of us team up? That bear’s got nothing on us 😉

Addendum
+Kurt Smith just shared this circle of “Plussers that make you go hmmm” that he created from the suggestions of other people commenting on his original post seeking input. This is a collaborative process of life. And you don’t have to be the best at being someone else, because frankly they’re better at being them than we are at trying to be them. But no one else can be you, the way you can 😉 So be the best you you can be by stripping away the layers of ego and fear. Find the heart and crux of your amazing awesomeness, vision, and voice. And rock that out like no one’s business 😉