Fame. Notoriety. Praise. I was thinking about these things last night for some reason. Some folks really crave those things. It is nice to imagine yourself being really famous sometimes, but, in the end those things are pretty much meaningless. If we give too much weight to those things we are missing out on what it is to be ourselves. Being “famous” for being great at something and being great at something are two different things. Praise is a nice thing, but, do what matters regardless of whether or not anyone ever knows that you are doing what matters. Life is short. It is short for all of us. And the universe is big. The doing/being is the thing that gives our lives meaning, not the praise. The vast, vast, vast, vast, vast majority of humans are never going to be famous. Even in all of history, there are names we recognize and accomplishments of great people we admire, but, even those famous names are just names now. No one knows Socrates now, they just have some idea of him, but, he is no longer here and all of his friends are gone too. Making “fame” a goal is hollow. Once we are gone, our existence on this earth will soon be not even a memory – all those who ever knew us will be gone too – just like every other human in history. Fame or praise for the sake of fame or praise is meaningless. Don’t waste your time being envious of “the famous” ‘cause in the end “being famous” is really nothing and seeking fame is vanity.
All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.
— Gandalf, J.R.R. Tolkien
I’m Alright
Life Less Ordinary
