The Faceless Are All Ok

Some people have an immense amount of talent, and find venues for this talent within the society that they live in, creating something fruitful out of it and becoming well known and loved by many for doing what they do well. Some people are in the right place at the right time, and manage to find success simply because they were able to take advantage of their circumstances.

I'm not talking about people who make a lot of money, although that usually ends up being the case anyway. I'm talking about people who find a way to live that other people can appreciate, and that are able to live their lives in an immediately apparent and fulfilling way. Steve Jobs built a corporate empire that continues to improve the lives of many and has directly affected the evolution of modern society. Jerry Seinfeld is an extremely talented and unique comedian that created a sitcom that's almost universally beloved, and is one of the most widely referenced pieces of pop culture. Martin Luther King Jr. used his experience with suffering and his skill in rhetoric to make the world a genuinely better and more accepting place. As you can see, there's a wide range of ways to cement yourself in history as someone who's done something "good" with their life.

But there's also a lot of people who don't get known for what they do. The faceless worker bees of society, the lost soul who can't seem to find their place in life, those who are sick and unable to live their lives the way that they want to. They're people, with thoughts and talents and work that they complete just like people that everybody knows and sees as successful. But unlike celebrities and public figures, nobody can see what they do or who they are at first glance. Their public identity doesn't reflect who they are. Does this make them lesser people? I really don't think so.

Struggling with who you are and what you can do is all too common. A lot of people worry that they aren't successful or famous or loved or perceived as important. But I don't think anyone has to be. Everyone has a different purpose in life, and nobody is worth less because their purpose is "smaller" than someone else. Every piece of the puzzle is important. Jerry Seinfeld and the barista who filled your coffee at Starbucks and your middle school math teacher are all human beings, living their own lives with their own philosophies and thoughts and talents and ideas. And not everyone gets to use their talent - sometimes people are robbed of this chance by illness, or don't have the support that they need to cultivate their particular talent. An unfortunate truth, yes, but not one that diminishes the intrinsic worth of the human soul.

Mother Teresa once said, “It is not the magnitude of our actions, but the amount of love that is put into them that matters.” Wise words to live by. "Success" is less about how many people see and acknowledge what you do, or even benefit from what you do, and a lot more about the intention that goes into what you do and doing the best that you can do with what you're given.