this week on Instagram I posted a poem about the best versions of ourselves. This was the poem:

In short, it is essentially saying that the best us is the end goal and from there we have nowhere to go. I think we are lucky in the sense that only a few get to experience the true worst versions of their being and being the best is about the chase, not the destination.

And we live in the era where the best something changes more than the weather. I am saying that as a Welsh man who witnesses more love affairs with seasons than I would deem acceptable. The best diet plans, workout routines, forever altering because we are the misusers of words. We care less for its meaning and more for the click of a mouse or tap of a finger. Take the word genius for example and how it used to be the best way to describe intelligence but now it’s a commonality in a comment section on social media and message boards. The very devices you are reading this on were once the best but technology has a dwindling half-life and is old as quick as it is new.

I do not want to be the best at anything. Who then would I look at for inspiration? Who then would prove there is more to be found? I fear stagnation. Pinnacles even more because once you reach the peak you either stay still or decline. I pray to forever find the hidden ladder or secret hatch. The cannon in the bushes willing to fire me off to some better place. I will not settle for a peak. Revel in my conquering and call it a day once reached. I will find something to climb. Some offbeat path to lead me to something new. There is too much world to consider ourselves done. Too many people with too many stories.

And talking about humans, I have changed my best friend numerous times. It means less as we age but the principal stands. What we define as a high also changes. If we are brave enough to run through the fog then often what is found on the other side is miraculous. It is so easy to settle and shunt our growth. Convince ourselves we have found the future in the present day and if I said ‘live in the moment’ would you understand how I meant it? How the future is always a day away with a reshuffled deck and a freshly pulled hand.

We are not our best selves and thank the heavens for that. We are chasing and let us hope we never catch. Beg for a road ahead. Let us stay optimistic that we will never become too much. Just marginally better than the present day. The best is overrated. Who wants to sit with their feet on the dash waiting for the world to catch up?

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