It is me, or is EVERYTHING in the middle??

During life we are encouraged to be FIRST, to strive for a position at the TOP; why then does everything seem to me to be about being in the middle?
It could be argued that I see life this way because I, myself, am in the middle-point of my life. But I would inevitably argue back that this was not the case, the middle is in fact the place we seek and the place that makes us happy.
When we are small we seek the middle seat, between our parents. That precious seat is fought over by siblings and grandchildren. We want to feel the sides, the boundaries around us. Frequently it is explained to new mothers that babies like to be swaddled tightly, to feel the boundaries as they would in the womb. From our earliest beginnings we seek the middle, the boundaries to tell us where to exist happily.
As we grow, we push at those same loving parents, seeking to find the boundaries, that have now grown, which will help us to find a place, a middle if you will, in our world.
I, personally, have spent many hours meditating on the middle. I believe it IS the happiest place on this Earth.
Being between the heavens and the earth, between birth and death, sitting between two dear loved ones, all of it gladdens my heart.
Other places of happiness for me are between the pages of a book, or the covers on my bed, snuggled between beloved pets, surrounded amid friends, these places of middle are pure joy. The middle is a grand place to be, try it. (perhaps you are already there!)