A Great Load of Greatness...

What makes a person great?

Is it what they do, what they say, how they're viewed? 

There are the obvious examples of human greatness: "Oscar Wilde, Kurt Cobain, Shakespeare, Madonna, Mother Theresa, Brangelina, Charlie Chaplin, Michael Jackson, Gandhi, John Lennon... The Spice Girls!?!?" Each completely different from the next and yet all have been hailed as 'great'... 

***Humans that shine***

I can't help thinking that we may have lost our way in the labeling of greatness in modern times. There's no denying that Shakespeare or Wilde or Woolf were amazing individuals, but it seems far easier to make the list nowadays. Most names that feature on any modern "Humans of Greatness" list, are or were celebrities of their day. I'm left wondering if they were celebrities because they were great or were they great because they were celebrities? Could it be that in modern times we confuse the word "great" with "Loud" or "Extravert" or "Extreme Press Coverage" or simply "Remembered"? Do you have to be great to be remembered?

I've always had a preoccupation with leaving a mark in life. I'm afraid of the oblivion of mediocrity and being forgotten in the pages of 'normal'. Ultimately, I want to be remembered after I'm gone... Don't panic, I'm not planning on going anywhere, anytime soon. But it is still something I think about.

I'm reminded of the Chinese tradition of longevity and leaving your name and image in physical form on every wall and surface you can squeeze it onto, in order that you are not forgotten. Short of scrawling all over my walls, what is a person to do to be remembered?

In considering this, I have found myself at a loss. It seems to all boil down to media coverage. The artists, playwrights, medical specialists, rulers, presidents, popstars and concert organisers are freely admired, and for very good reason. They do, after all, provide a great service to the community. However, the teachers that strive to ground and educate or the parents that struggle to make money but still make time for their children or the carers that devote their time to the well being of another are somewhat left by the wayside. Greatness and column space hold a very close relationship, I have learned.

Could it be that greatness is something you claim with your final breath? You hear of great last words, such as: "My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One of us has to go (Oscar Wilde)" or "The taste of death is upon my lips... I feel something that is not of this earth (Mozart)" or "I should never have switched from scotch to martinis (Hunphrey Bogart)". They are poignant, wonderful words that smack of luck and wit and good timing. But what about the people that said " D'you want a cup of tea?" or "I'm off to the shop" or simply farted before they died? Are they any less great for having a not-so-poetic final moment?

Ultimately I realise, greatness is something that lies in the heart of the beholder, not the possessor. We can strive all our lives for recognition and still slip effortlessly into the shadows without so much as a second thought or glance from anyone. I believe the key to greatness is as simple as making a difference to just one person. If, on the day we die, we can say "I made a change in someone's life"or "I earned respect" or "I tried my best", I believe we have achieved greatness.  

I conclude that you do not have to be great to be remembered, you simply have to be remembered to be great.

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