The Shadow of Greatness

What makes a thing great? It is that it lasts? Is it that it gets noticed?

What makes being a part of something great so great? Is it success? Is is that it secures your future? Is it because it feeds your ego?

What was the last great thing you were a part of? There are probably some obvious answers that come to mind: the birth of your children; being part of a start-up; raising a bunch of money for a great cause.

I have a weird answer. One of the last greatest things I was a part of was my friend's funeral. He unexpectedly died while on vacation with his family. There were quite a few things that made this terrible thing a great thing.

• My wife and I got to spend time with his wife who was kind of holed-up in her house for the first few days after.

• I got to rest my hand on his casket as we pall-beared it up to the front of an over-stuffed church.

• I got to speak to the sardine-packed crowd about his life and the things that were most important to him.

• I got to preside over the last moments his family would spend with his body at the graveside - as my friend - his wife - gently threw her body on top of the casket, weeping from her soul.

Being Braver and Stronger Together

What makes the day so great for me? I think the biggest reason was I got to be in the shadow of how large his life was. And his life was so large because he was a part of things that were larger than him. His greatness was in the shadows of other great things.

I think that is the key to greatness - joining up with something already great.

What great things are you a part of? What great group have you joined? Why not step into the shadow of some greatness!

I'd love to hear what you think about stepping into some greatness by posting a comment.