Fame or Peace

[The Stage is on Fire] is a page-turner in which, much like life, there are no easy answers and yet each step of the journey yields insight and hope. This work of heart must not be missed!

Melanie Faith

Creative Writing Teacher, Essayist & Poet.

Katie Steedly’s first-person piece [The Unspeakable Gift] is a riveting retelling of her participation in a National Institutes of Health study that aided her quest to come to grips with her life of living with a rare genetic disorder. Her writing is superb.

The Society of Professional Journalists

In recognition of receiving the Dateline Award for the Washingtonian Magazine essay, The Unspeakable Gift.

I thank you … It is the authenticity of your “class notes”; and it is the delicacy and skill with which you present the nuances of classroom life and the actuality of your students’ and fellow teachers’ lives.

Maxine Greene

Philosopher and Education Scholar

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Rather the flying bird, leaving no trace, than the going beast, marking the earth. – Fernando Pessoa

What do I want? Fame or Peace.

At first, I answer this questions rather simply. “Peace, of course.” Then I start thinking about its nuances and my sure footedness becomes a little wobbly. I think about the advice I received when I was a child performing in Equity dinner theatre about pursuing a career in acting, “If you can do anything else. Do it.” I remember the sound and feel of applause. I think about my happiest and successful and peaceful moments and fame is not a consideration. I remember how great it feels to win awards.

The truth about giving and receiving attention.

Giving and receiving attention are the foundation of human relationships. Our capacity to give and receive attention is a muscle. It can be strengthened through serving others. It can be strengthened through strong mentorship and guidance. It can be strengthened through the practice of giving and receiving feedback. It can be strengthened as we listen. The truth about giving and receiving attention is that the more peace we find in both giving and receiving attention, the less fame matters.

Are fame and peace diametrically opposed?

Fame and peace are not diametrically opposed. I want to offer an understanding of fame that aligns success and happiness and peace. In looking at fame that way, fame does not stay an external state to achieve, but rather an internal state to feel. Framing fame as the alignment of success and happiness and peace makes it much more tangible and meaningful and authentic. It becomes something to be experienced by real and loving and generous people, not just a select group of superstars. It is not diminished when it is shared. It is not enduring when it is superficial.

What does legacy have to do with fame and peace?

Legacy is the about leaving a trace. The way we live our lives determines our legacy. Leaving the world better than we found it is a way that our trace does more than simply mark the earth. Fame does not necessarily determine a legacy. If fame is viewed as the selfish marking of the earth, then it loses it potential for peace. Peace happens as what drives us is the desire for our legacy to be about connection and meaning and love.

https://kitt.global/june-23-fame-or-peace-mark-nepo-the-book-of-awakening/