The 1984 movie Amadeus is a fictionalized account of the story of Mozart and Antonio Salieri played by F. Murray Abraham who won the best actor Oscar for his performance. Mozart and Salieri were contemporaries and it's the story of Salieri, who was a successful composer in his own right until he was upstaged by the younger Mozart. Salieri turned to God, to whom he claimed undying servitude, to allow him to rise above Mozart and musically vanquish him whom Salieri claimed was both his idol and his rival.
In Salieri's mind, God contemptuously rejected his prayer as Mozart's star continued to rise and Salieri eventually saw himself as no more than an average artist which was more than he could bear, attempted suicide and subsequently regarded himself as voice for the mediocre.
Although I'm a much greater fan of Mozart, I've always held a sympathetic understanding of Salieri, at least in this setting. For years I've been in a perpetual battle with underachievement and recently, after reviewing my journals of years past, I've come to the conclusion that not much has changed. So, like Salieri of the movie, I've opened my heart and mind to divine intervention to help in rising above the level of dull mediocrity. I only hope my outcome is better than his.
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