Everyone has their opinion of what defines greatness. Some believe that it's an abundance of riches, notoriety, and other measures of celebrity status, but is this truly eminence? Not in my opinion...not all the time.
In my lifetime I've been acquainted with congressmen, professional athletes, actors and other people of fame. But this weekend I was honored to be in the presence of true greatness when I attended the state Special Olympics Games with my son's soccer teams (all three divisions and skills players winners of the gold, silver and bronze medals).
Each athlete is the epitome of determination, inner-strength and perseverance, spending countless hours training with little complaint--sometimes in in-climate weather--dreaming of that day that they'll walk into the stadium amid a throng of cheering fans, and perhaps stand on the podium, the coveted gold medal dangling from around their neck. But these dreams are shelved as they pause to cheer and encourage their competitors--athletes they've never met and in all probability will never see again.
For me, that is the definition of greatness.