A nonentity is insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Believing firmly or feeling strongly has nothing to do with it. Being loved by nonentities is as insignificant as they are.
A life is only significant if it makes a real difference, for good or for evil. George Washington and Adolf Hitler were significant, as were Karl Marx and J.R.R. Tolkien.
The insignificant have more names than everyone else... yet are nameless. Those with titles are recognized but only as their impersonal titles.
Nothing stirs human imagination like the thought of adventure. It is the vim and vigor of our legends and fiction. Its heroes are what we believe in. Its antiheroes are what we admire. Masterminds are its will to evil. Sidekicks and elite henchmen are its little people making something of themselves. The "Red Shirts" as they are in Star Trek and the useless foot soldiers of villainy are its insignificant many.
We read or watch adventure fiction and expect its heroes, masterminds, sidekicks and elite henchmen to survive or die dramatically. Our "Red Shirts" and nameless baddies are boring until something grimly amusing happens to them.
The lives of our important people, both in reality and in our fiction, are savored. Their untimely deaths are celebrated as martyrdom or irony. As for the unimportant many: they live and die lost in a crowd.
Never waste your life feeling important. Make a name for yourself... or be a nameless body to be tossed onto the pile.
Indeed, what we believe does not make us significant. It is what an individual does that determines who we are and if we truly make a difference, good or bad. It is up to us to decide if we have the gumption and constitution to do what is necessary to make our lives significant. Many will fall short simply because they truly do not care enough to persevere.
ReplyDeleteMost want the feeling whether they enjoy the reality or not. The real thing will settle for nothing short of the real thing.
Delete