“Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them”. – Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
I am curious about the possibility of being born with Greatness. Some babies are born into poverty, some into wealth, a great many to middle class. In America, we need only look as far as President Obama and our first lady to confirm that achieving greatness is a reality.
As far as fear of greatness, well I have to admit that if greatness came up and bit me on the backside, I am not sure I’d know what to do with it. First, I’d see if it wore a collar and tags, then I’d make tracks for my favorite chair and see if someone else wants to take it on. I certainly wasn’t born to it and it isn’t outside my door waiting for me to lay claim to it.
Who has greatness thrust upon them? Not me.
It would indeed be a defining moment if I suddenly discovered a birthright to greatness and I would cower under the pressure of having it imposed upon me. Achieving it, however, seems an acceptable state.
Who are the great people in our lives? How did they come upon it? Did they look away? Did they shudder and at first insist someone else could do it better? Who are the greatest living people in the world today? I suppose if I look into it I will discover that the great people living today achieved the prize and they weren’t afraid.
I’ll close up my copy of the Twelfth Night and maybe take a stroll past our local hospital’s nursery window. Who knows what destiny those newborns claim?
Comments
One response to “Some Achieve Greatness”
I think most of the great people were just doing what they felt was right, and greatness came along with it. I don’t think a person can go looking for greatness and find it.