Even the illest of thinkers...are only mad decent at best.

*1st thought

It seems that even the illest of thinkers may come against things they struggle to understand.

There is a quote by Jesus (the prophet not the tree hustler) that is one of those things that is perfect on paper and more difficult in practice:

"The world is only a bridge; cross it, build not thy house upon it."

I definitely feel him on this but then there is the pressure...

it comes from around us in this world and it is this pressure that makes it feel necessary to "build your house on the bridge". Group thought is a powerful phenomenon and social trends and paradigms are harder to break than some of us think. most of us adventurous types only break the surface on breaking free. Only the true outcast takes it the full way. It takes a certain level of dedication that makes others question your sanity.

*2nd thought
So what does it mean to want to be successful and what does it mean to want to be great?

Which one do you want for yourself?

Consider this: Success is what one can have on this world and in this time. Greatness is something one has in the next world and throughout time.

To me success is noteriety, wealth and other easily measurable identifiers. Greatness is something immeasurable from close distance...it always takes us more time to realize greatness. Greatness is something measured in lightyears and not minutes. Great is a star exploding and us being able to see it 12 billion years later. Success is achieving a goal or finishing some task that others deem worthy of the attribute "success". Great is an action that is usually recognized much later by those who realize how they have been affected by it. Greatness is a lump of coal that after much pressure, time, and being forgotten can reveal a diamond. I am not saying that these two things don't coincide but one is done for the purpose of reaching "the goal" and the other is done to "achieve the doing" (i think that makes sense) I know which I prefer and I know which feels more necessary to survival.

Which one should you want for yourself?

*interesting point: I wrote this hours before watching this flick Revolutionary Road. When I watched it I saw that it dealt exactly with what I'd just written about. (funny how that happens)*

-Tektite Illah