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Who is the most famous person you've met? Maybe your line of work has brought you into contact with some of the rich and famous of the world. Or maybe it was a chance meeting, in a pharmacy or on the street, with someone who somehow moved society. Maybe it was a complex interaction or just a few words, but either way, it can be an interesting story to relate once it's all over. “You'll never guess who I met,” you might tell close family or friends. And then you yourself take on a temporary celebrity, a residual from your encounter—the person who saw so-and-so.
People can be famous for being entertainers or inventors, athletes or artists, politicians or CEOs. What matters is they must be widely known, capable of being recognized by many, for their contributions to society. Also, we often award our attention to people whose contributions have been positive, and it's worth noting that synonyms for famous include “honored,” “celebrated,” “acclaimed,” “popular,” “notable” and “legendary.”
Does that nuance change your answer? If you had to pick a person based on their positive impact as much as how well-known they are, who's the most famous person you've met? Does that change make it easier or harder to determine and defend your answer? And, perhaps the most important follow-up of all, does this make you reflect on who it is that we pay attention to, that we as a society choose to call famous?
One person who met both definitions of famous in her day—and no doubt deserves to be more famous now—is Hildegard of Bingen, a 12th century Benedictine mystic who founded and led prominent convents in Germany. She could have been famous simply for her station, but she was also a celebrated teacher, poet, composer, herbalist and philosopher. In her day, she was well-regarded as a reflective and responsive counselor; many people, from humble monks to the Holy Roman Emperor, sought out her advice.
If you read some of Hildegard's writings, a couple of themes emerge. One is the importance of healing and reconciliation, which is present in everything from her encyclopedia on herbs and medicine to the inspirational letters she composed. Another theme is a respect for everyone and everything alive, including the spiritual nature of the Earth itself, because the presence of God was found within them all. Taken together, it becomes clear that Hildegard saw both the interconnectedness of creation and the significance of our impact on it.
Hildegard certainly lived her life that way. She might have been cloistered in a monastery, but she never withheld her wisdom from those who needed it. She recognized it was her spiritual duty to help others and learn from them, expanding herself so that she could more tightly connect to everything that is and better serve creation. The fact that she gave the same attention to commoners and kings also demonstrates she believed everyone was worthwhile. Hildegard reminds us we all hold the power to learn, expand and influence things for the better, assuming we recognize and utilize it.
So, once more, who is the most famous person you've met? If we rely on the metric of how influential a person is, it might very well be yourself. That may sound self-aggrandizing, but it's not. It's actually an indicator of the responsibility we have. Every word we say can take up someone's time; every action we perform can alter someone's perspective; every step we take can change the shape of the Earth. We already matter simply by being; what matters more is whether we make a positive or negative impact. Our significance is not measured in how many people know our name but in how good we strive to be.
Even the smallest things we do have the potential to start a chain reaction that reaches beyond what we'd ever expect. A kind word or an offer of help can change someone else's next interaction for the better, which can change another person's and another's, until the initial act of kindness has impacted people who have never heard of us or we of them. When we choose to be compassionate, to listen, to give, to be grateful, each of those everyday virtues can uplift people, inspire them to be more positive, and influence our own actions in the future to better ourselves. In fact, that's another reason why our thoughts, behaviors and reactions are so important; they also shape our personal and cosmic identity.
Our reach and influence are not only significant socially and psychologically, but spiritually as well. Our potential for positive impact is part of the divine plan. We know that because God shaped us, blessing us with intelligence, creativity, strength, wellness, willpower and the capacity for self-mastery. God's concern for us is in our crafting; God's confidence in us is in our connectedness with all that is.
The realization of our significance should quicken us toward our best, highest and truest nature—our Christ selves. Achieving the Christ self means to take the potential God placed within us and realize it: to be aware, to heal, to innovate, to uplift, to perfect and to become. To matter to everyone carries the weight of the world, to matter to God carries the weight of eternity, but we are up to the task. It's exactly who we are meant to be.
Let us pray:
Dear God,
Thank You for Your presence within us,
Which longs to connect to creation.
Thank You for Your presence in others,
Which longs to reach us.
May we nurture that part of ourselves
Through positivity, compassion, creativity and self-mastery.
May we strive to leave the world for the better,
And in doing so become better ourselves.
Amen.
“It is in your power to do the good, to fulfill the laws of life and to harmonize with the Spirit of love, brotherhood, and perfection. It is given to you to inspire creation to what you are in the depth of your being. It is in your power to quicken your indwelling Spirit, to resurrect your own divine faculties, and to enrich the world with this resurrection. It is your privilege to experience the universal powers concealed in your spirituality.” - Hanna Jacob Doumette, “Psalms For Today”