Monday, July 5, 2010

Bryan The Great?

I read presidential biographies hoping they'll reveal what makes men great.  

I go to church and watch men of faith profess God's greatness, but they all seem to ignore the fact that understanding greatness on God's level can only lead to an unabashedly prime example of how far we are from achieving it.

Yet I wonder what legacy I'll leave behind, if anyone will consider me a great man.

I guess it all depends on the yardstick. Measuring greatness depends on the scale. Great can be simply doing the right thing. So in that sense I've fallen short.

One could say I'm a great survivor. But surviving is merely the ability to wait out a struggle. Although overcoming adversity doesn't render one great, falling and getting back up does.

Sometimes I measure greatness by way of accomplishment, accumulation, and status, but using this scale leaves room for scoundrels.

Maybe it lies in simplicity, peace of mind, or morality. Not necessarily in a religious sense, but an ideological one. Perhaps greatness is merely self-actualization leading to an unshakable foundation of belief in oneself that leads others to admiration. Maybe it's being a husband, model employee, or responsible citizen.

Or maybe the genesis of greatness begins with the question; just like neither the chicken nor the egg could have preceded the idea of such, maybe defining greatness will help me achieve it.

So here goes...greatness is---

Trying to be better than I was yesterday.

No comments: