Eternal glory or happiness?

Was wondering for quite some time, what is better - strive for greatness, be remembered for many, many years after your death, but not enjoy life OR enjoy life, be happy, but be forgetten forever once you die?

Curious what other people would choose :)

Odysseus and the peasant.

I'll take spiritual peace, whether it leads me to fame, notoriety, or utter mediocrity. Live in accordance with one's principles and live a better life, regardless of its length.

If you're free to choose a life for yourself, most people would choose the quiet life. Most of us don't get to choose, however. And for those who fall outside of the narrow window of privilege, living according to principle may mean a nasty, brutish, and short life indeed. Slave revolts, labour strikes, rebellion, jailbreak, mutiny.

happiness, not even close for me.

Eternal glory because of happiness i reached.

Happiness, all day.

I think for most people, a big part of growing up is realising the latter isn't a poor substitute for the former. We were never going to be great or remembered beyond a few generations in the first place. And by that I don't mean just your average person -- even most people famous in their era are lost to time before too long. I remember the first time I watched one of those Academy Awards 'in memoriam' sequences and recognised one of the faces. That was a horrible, horrible moment. Or when I learned that the best-selling entertainment for the first half of the 20th century is very much not what we consider the classics of the era now. Or, one of the most obvious examples, Christ did not lead a successful, popular life -- he died in contemporary ignominy after a struggle against the authorities; he was perceived as a vandal long before the word even existed.

Which is all to say, you can strive for success but not, I think, true enduring greatness. Greatness is a much more complicated formula, one that can only be foreseen through what some call Heaven's eyes, others a great mandala, the clockmaker's design, and so on...it can be bestowed onto a girl sitting on a bus as readily as it can a genocidal maniac.

Choosing humble happiness in lieu of this unforced greatness, however, is not found in amoral hedonism or selfishness, which might seem the natural response to this fatal cosmic insignificance. I think those are a poor substitute for greatness, an egocentrism that makes one 'great' in too small a world to be taken seriously.

But it's kind of a false dichotomy too, especially when you put it into words and make it a subject of discussion: if I realise I cannot be great and unhappy, can I be no-one and happy? Of course you can, most people do, but only if you don't dwell on it. Only if you fill your life with mundane, important details that render contemplations like this frivolous and pointless. Why worry about cosmic greatness or daily happiness when you've got responsibilities, duties, obligations, occupations, pastimes...? Philosophy and theology are traditionally the domain of the idle privileged, after all.

Yeah, in that light I'm not sure I've grown up all that much. I am neither internally happy (despite my name) nor externally exalted (despite the titles, one of which was literally 'exalted'), but I am constantly amusing myself within the wry think-space between the two. Most of the time, it suffices. :)

The main problem is that most ppl dont understand happiness as it is. It true happiness has 3 stages.

1. Most primitive one - pleasure. It comes from our body. On biological level we are same as jellyfish. We go where we are touched and pleased and we run from what gives us pain.

2. Second comes from Mind - satisaction. To reach it one must put some effort into doing something that takes time and attention, to conquer its own lazyness and bad habits. And when one finish something then shows to others and from that comes satisfaction (if others like what one did).

3. Highiest is Joy and it comes from Spirit. It is understanding that everything i need to be fully happy i already have within and no external thing or person can replace that.

If one is focused on one of the lowest it cannot reach highier but if one has Joy then it can feel satisfaction and pleasure.

The problem is that very oten this world puts pleasure as highiest form of happiness (like all the marketing shot is trying to tell us that "this" thing will makes us "happy"). Commerism is new religion in what pleasure is presented as happiness and it makes ppl to buy and consume more but in the end all those who follow it are far from true happiness.

Simple but not easy.

You know, somewhy it makes me feel a bit sad thinking that i might be forgotten forever once i die, like i never existed in the first place. Countless people died before me that i am not aware of, countless will die after me. I wonder is it worth trying to leave a mark in history about ourselves even if it might cost us things giving joy in everyday life. Seen famous and succesful people taking their own lifes in the end, because they were depressed.

Greatness requires talent like being able to dunk from free throw line (think Jordan or Labron) or having 180 IQ like Elon Musk or some shit. I've always been happy but know I'll never be great and that's fine with me. As God wills it I'm just along for the ride.

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Aim_Deep wrote:

Greatness requires talent like being able to dunk from free throw line (think Jordan or Labron) or having 180 IQ like Elon Musk or some shit. I've always been happy but know I'll never be great and that's fine with me. As God wills it I'm just along for the ride.

Thats thinking is just limiting the Self. Also IQ (and thats not intelligence but intellect) is overrated. Many ppl with very high IQ are not famous and those with highiest have problems with simple things like making a tea.

You have limitless potential. If You didnt actualied it in that things You do try different things and see what happens.