I think that we've come to associate greatness with recognition because so many of the people that we know are achieving that : tangible accolades in the form of public recognition or positions of influence.
To decide to resign oneself to mediocrity, to assume that you will be comfortable with day-to-day -drudgery-for-the-sake-of, is a means of writing your own obituary, if you have an inquiring spirit - that is. The process of deciding to settle for (deliberate use of the word) the very ordinary means that you have dissected out the converse and found it to be unappealing.
This one guy was mentioning to me some time back about how he felt cheated because he was told that
he/we would do something important and meaningful , and that with a sense of disillusion, he realised that this might never happen. So who do you take your frustrations out on : yourself? The guys who sold you the dream in the first place ? god forbid – your Creator?
So what is greatness then?
In the context of life, purpose and other such philosophical luxuries, I think that it's the process of ensuring that you are at every step, inching closer towards realising your potential. YOUR potential.
A very specific, exceptionally individualised definition.
To realise YOUR potential takes a measure of honesty. To understand your capacity without limiting your ability to move beyond perceived boundaries, is challenging. Ideally, with this honesty would come a measure of settled-ness, an ease and self-confidence.
Perhaps greatness is not as much a destination as it is a process.
To settle for mediocrity would imply a refutation of striving – unless of course it's mediocrity that you are striving for. Striving and beating your personal best is in keeping with Islamic philosophy -this is Ihsan. This is greatness. It may not be as perceptible the broader context, but greatness (especially of spirit) has this way of being difficult to contain – pouring on out from the microcosm onto the macrocosm.
That other type of greatness, while often thrust upon deserving men, tends to be this hollow structure. Not that the recipient is undeserving, but because society is often fickle.
6 comments:
This is essentially a discussion about security, or rather insecurity. In my (ever cynical) worldview, most ambition and desire to *do* stems from insecurity and as such is just another means of proving ones worth, even if that's to oneself and by doing quite honourable things.
what about ambition to be a better human being?
Why does such a thing require ambition? Perhaps we need a definition... but assuming a "better human being" is and does good, I don't think you need ambition to do either, not if that's our default state.
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umm... i don't get the balance between contentment with what is and complacency - any thoughts?
Directed to me? I'm not sure I understand the question if so.
However I do fully believe that happiness is an internally changeable state of mind.
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