Note 76

I am disillusioned by greatness. It just isn't interesting. It's like a trick with one solution. Why do we idolize it? Not only is it unrelatable but boring, dreadfully boring. What is plain and what is common is much more interesting. People living lives of quiet struggle and unrequited kindness, totally obscure and unrecognized. Things we take for granted. To be a good friend, a good partner, a good parent, a decent and trustworthy person, without any recognition, despite widespread cruelty and pain, requires a much fiercer character and a far greater struggle than to be merely eminent. And if one should come at the cost of the other, as they often do, it is not only commendable to choose the former but actually makes for a more intriguing story.