Man is explicable by nothing less than all his history. Without hurry, without rest, the human spirit goes forth from the beginning to embody every faculty, every thought, every emotion, which belongs to it in appropriate events.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson ; History
“For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.” Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, ye are gods’?”
– John 10: 33-34
The purpose of greatness is to become more of it. There is so much greatness in man and by extension there is so much greatness in this world. Nature is great. God is great. And so too are we great. And if we are not great today, at least we can each always aspire towards more greatness tomorrow. The setting sun never rests. Each day the aurora of the morning springs anew for all men. Our next breath can be a breath of repentance, of freedom, of love.
It has been stated that in order to be great one must quote and dialogue and challenge those greats that precede us. And that is absolutely correct. To become great, we must imbibe that which is great. We must interact with it, wrestle with it, challenge it, seek deeply to understand it. Those that have come before us, though we may all surely disagree and perhaps quibble over particulars, have indeed already laid down the framework that we may construct our own new estate. Just as we stand upon those before us, so too in the height of our glory, shall we each amount to the footstools for those who are to follow us.
Humanity is a mass of greatness which grows upon itself in body, intellect, soul, and spirit. Christ Jesus said “these things I do you too shall do and even greater, because I go to the Father.” Many people I speak to don’t tend to focus on that final clause – “because I go to the Father.” I remember when I first really heard that part. Of course I had heard the phrase many times, but one day I heard those final words clearly as if for the first time, and I realized that all of what Jesus was saying, all that he had done, all that he as well as all of us shall ever do, is all predicated on the Father. It is because of the Father that we can do anything great at all. It is God who makes all things great, and God is always with us.
The scholar, the writer, the engineer, the artist, the soldier, the scientist, the prophet – they are all purveyors of greatness. No one is greater than another so long as greatness is made manifest. In every field of interest, in every career and path and action, look closely and you will find greatness. Greatness is a leaf that grows on all trees, in all seasons and climates. It shimmers in the night, growing silently, it rustles faintly in cool breeze, and then it buds fragrant in the bright light of day. All men have greatness within them, but not all men aspire towards it, let alone realize it lives within them. We walk with all that we wish to become. We must source ourselves within to be sure, but that sourcing, the ways in which we pull water up from that well, must be learned, must be studied, known and lived. It takes discipline, desire, labor, and experience to achieve all worthy things just as the most valuable gold is found buried deep in the earth. Greatness demands ever more greatness and thereby naturally creates more of itself, and we are here caught eddying in its wake even as we make the waves.
It is said that Solomon was granted one prayer which would be fulfilled for him, and in that moment he asked for wisdom and understanding. Wisdom and understanding. These are great indeed. The value of the great canon of literature, the humanities, the wide arc of western civilization lies in a cataloging of greatness through time, space, and the mind and acts of man. This is the value of English literature, the value of books and stories, philosophy and history. This is the argument for all of the liberal arts. They may not carve a career for a man, but they shall surely fashion him into a greatness all his own, for all of humanity to see, work, and live beside.
There is something alive and viral to greatness. It lives and grows within us, as us. We can see it in others around us, and in the beauty of creation, the rapture of music. Naturally we imbibe it, are pulled to it, try as we might we cannot help ourselves. It consumes us in its vortex like the gravity of earth. We each are so destined. It is a law unto man to become that which he already is. At some point eventually we are compelled. Greatness demands it to be. Indeed we demand it so. Nothing can barricade us, the gates will be stormed. It is who we truly are. Our greatness is our humanity. Our humanity is our greatness.
Years ago now I remember standing on the edge of a pier looking out into the wide ocean with a good friend. Down below us, under the tall pier posts with barnacles and sea sludge growing on them, there was a seal swimming, playing, and honking away in the water. We watched this seal for some time, mesmerized, until eventually I realized that I was actually jealous and envious even of this seal. I couldn’t believe it! I understood in that moment that this seal knew itself, knew its place in the universe, in the ocean, and knew precisely what its purpose was in life. I recall walking down the pier back to land contemplating what is my purpose in life, where do I belong in this universe just as this seal belongs in the ocean. The answer my friends lies here, with greatness. We are human and so our ocean is all that is great. Our purpose lives in greatness, from the ordinary to the sublime, greatness pervades all of mankind’s endeavors. No matter how mundane the task, man seeks to make it great. It is what we strive for, what we yearn for; all that we sacrifice we sacrifice for greatness. Greatness is ours alone and likewise all of ours together. There is nothing that any one of us can do that is not capable of being great. All is great. This is our life’s drive, our breathing meditation, the penultimate zenith before even that too is transcended, and we ascend ever higher beyond, for we too go to the Father.