Greatness

Greatness

I once wrote in a poem a few years back that the greatness of my fathers works should not be judged by the size of his hands, but by the size of his heart. I learned a long time ago that "greatness", like "success" is a state of mind. You are as great and as successful as you feel. The problem is, most people don't see our greatness unless, it is measured often times by our popularity. Take Barack Obama for example, three years ago, he was an Illinois senator, father husband and to most people, considered successful, but few at that time would have called him great. Martin Luther King in the opinion of most, was a great man, as well as Abraham Lincoln, Muhammad Ali and many others. Throughout the years though, many men and women have been idolized, glorified, immortalized and very commonly role-modelized for the great works they have done. While I can never take anything away from the accomplishments, successes and strides these individuals have made to our society and the contributions they have made to mankind, if is so important that we as people, look a little closer home for greatness.

I remember many years ago when scandal rocked the foundation of Christian belief when Rev. Jimmy Swaggart admitted to having a sexual tryst with a prostitute that he had picked up. Again, man years later, the lights blinked twice in the church house when it was brought into the open that Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. had fathered an illegitimate child, with a woman that worked closely with him. I remember how so many people, both black and white were so stunned and disappointed at the actions of these men that we had held in such high regard. (Truth be told, many people were disappointed at Jesse because the child was almost two years old when the scandal broke. I know I was. How could we have missed that?) Honestly, so many people were heartbroken because these men were our leaders, our role models, men of greatness. So here we are, at these moments when these men of greatness have literally let us down, hard. Why? Because we put so much faith in them. Well, most people anyway.

Our new President has prompted us to do our parts to make America the country that it can be. He has urged us to volunteer, change old habits, renew faith in our people and above all else, have hope. Did I hear you say, "Yes We Can"? In addition to those factors, I am so sure that he would agree with me when I say, he is indeed a man of greatness, but there are far many people that live and die without ever knowing their own greatness. President Obama is not infallible, subject to failures and may at some point disappoint us. Because, the fact remains, he is human. He is subject to that. I grew up in a modest household as a child without a father. As like most young boys do, each and everyday of my life, I search for a role model. It wasn't until I reached young adulthood that I realized that she was with me each and every day of my life. The woman that housed half of the city, fed the other half, cleaned house to support her and her children, tirelessly kelp the cleanest house I knew of and still took care of elderly family members because a nursing home was not an option. Now do you think I would have to look outside of my own home for a person of greatness to consider my role model? Hell no! This was the person, I inspired to be more like each and every day of my life. Now while she may have never been Governor, a talk show hostess or even a doctor, in the eyes of the people that knew her, they knew her greatness.

Today, I would ask of us all to look into your own homes, families and circle of friends and find greatness. And while doing so, tell that individual that you think that he/ she is great. We so often forget to tell those around us of their greatness because we are so consumed with honoring those subjects on television, the political arena and the sports field.

I am reminded of a story that I was once told as a child of a woman who had a son. Through the years, she constantly reminded him of how stupid he was and that he would never amount to anything. The son had a knack for painting and would often paint the most unusual portraits of himself and his mother in everyday situations. One day, he painted a picture of his mother in her everyday environment, sitting on the front porch, headrag on, cigarette in one hand and a beer in the other and looking as mean as she could be. Several years later, at an art show, this particular painting garnered over $500.00. His mother overwhelmed, said that since he had used her as his subject, that she should get all of the money and that he was stupid for settling for that little amount anyway. The son obliged since he did not want to anger his aging mother and said that they would go to the bank the next morning and cash the check. The next morning when he woke up he went to his mothers bedside only to find out that she had died in her sleep during the night. Now this story may sound a bit sad, but the uncanny coincidence of it, is that his greatness was prevalent all along but he did not realize it because it was never reinforced. The son now free of the negativity that consumed him moved away to Los Angeles to become of the most prolific artists of his time.

Yes, greatness is a state of mind, but not our own, the minds of those in our lives, how they see us, what they expect of us, how they react to the good that we do. Being in the company of true greatness is an honor above that of celebrity, social status and religious hiarchy. It should be cherished but yet acknowledged to those in our own lives who have touched us on a more personal level and blessed us with their presence. Acknowledge greatness today.

WYLD STYLZ