Saturday, October 9, 2010

About Greatness and Its Recognition

So this is a web site about home inspection issues, atrocities and otherwise. Perhaps I can put this one in the wisdom area. It really has nothing to do with home inspections, but much to do with atrocity and wisdom.

I was at a Utah Home Makeover after-party last night - they had great food and a great musician. Dude's name was Stephen Nelson I think. I saw him talking to his girlfriend from behind a keyboard. I am a Jim Brickman fan, so I asked him to play something. He just knew it. Not only could he play Brickman, but he could do it impromptu, never having seen the notes on a sheet.

That was the warmup

As he began to play for the crowd toward the end of the evening, I found that his artistic skills were boundless. He could not only play Brickman, but he did a great Billy Joel and his other stuff had endless heart. He played with the heart that he wrote his stuff with. I was awed by this kid, and his skill in his craft. The dude is already amazing and he's 20-something.

What got me is that only myself and 2 or 3 others really noticed the guy. Of a crowd of 20-30, nearly all just kept yacking - loudly. Kids were flying around the room while this picasso of the piano practiced his masterpieces.

Greatness isn't always noticed

This was my second lesson in greatness recently. The other lesson was very similar, but from both I have learned one clear lesson. Greatness is not always recognized. In fact, it's usually not recognized. Picasso, Lincoln, Moses, any of them could show up as a fat guy in a t-shirt and be largely ignored today - at least by the masses.

Moral of this story

I'm not sure what to take of this. I've been searching for greatness in my own life. Perhaps I learn that greatness in myself or in others is great in itself, and does not need to be validated.

It's definitely more fun to be noticed though.

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