Janet CollinsIn Support of Spectators
October 1st 2009 19:47
It is that time of the year when our senior school students are about to sit their final exams. It is also a time when they all have their final graduation functions and these are never complete without a few pieces of good advice from anyone who wants to wish them on their way into the world post-school.
The other night I heard a speech delivered to some Year 12 students and it was really the same as many I have heard before. The person delivering it talked about “doers” and “spectators” – you know the one. It is about “doing” something in your life rather than just watching.
I have heard these speeches over and over and while it is good advice to tell students who are about to embark on the real world to do something with their lives, I think it is just as relevant to teach them the finer points of being able to bask in someone else’s glory.
We would all like to be the best sportsman, the best actor, the best lawyer, the best economist or the best writer. Some may even have their sights on being Prime Minister. No harm in that. The problem is, we can’t all be the best and there are other things that a just as important, like doing what makes you happy even if you may not make great ripples in the world.
The whole argument about “doers” and “spectators” often makes me squirm. It is as if the people watching the “doers” are really unimportant. Take for example our own international tennis champions. Where would they be without spectators? I’ll tell you where. They wouldn’t have sponsors. They would be playing to empty stadiums and there would be no point in writing about the titles they have won because no-one would be reading about it.
This weekend we have the Grand Final for the National Rugby League. If there were no spectators, again there would be no sponsors or no-one watching to see the team that actually won.
The fact is that being a spectator or being able to be a spectator has its rewards. How many men get together to watch the footy at the pub or at a friend’s house? How many people sit up late at night to watch the international tennis championships? And how many people get glued to television shows that are so popular that not tuning into them would keep any person out of any discussion around the water cooler at work?
Through most of our lives we are spectators even if we are doers. There will be some of us who reach great heights, but not most of us, and there is no reason why most of us shouldn’t at least try to be the best. The problem is, that sometimes this dream leads to frustration and anxiety because society is really based around the interconnection of human beings and it is this interconnection that most people who in our eyes, “succeed” forego.
Life is really just as much about watching and observing as it is about doing. If anyone is too busy doing they are not really aware of the things that are going on around them. So a really good piece of advice to graduating students might also be to observe what is going on around them.
You can probably relate the same argument to the “talkers” and the “listeners”. We have all been there. The get-togethers where some people talk incessantly and others don’t get the chance to get a word in. This is much the same where the talkers haven’t even bothered to find out one thing about the person who is listening to them but everyone on the table knows every thing about them.
While some people herald people who are “doers”, most of the people who make it to the top do very little in my experience. If they could get someone to tie up their shoelaces they would. If they were asked to boil some water they probably wouldn’t know how.
Spectators, observers or listeners are probably the people who see and hear everything that is going on around them and are probably the real doers anyway. They just don’t get a reporter or a camera to track everything they are doing.
Image Credit: www.smh.com.au
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