The Forgotten

I see you hanging your head low
The mark of failure on your face
I see it in your eyes and know
That you are one of them

One of the forgotten

I love the awe as much as any man
The ones who make it bring us joy, inspire
But when the top becomes your sole desire
This disturbed message that you can

"Achieve everything if you work hard
If you believe"

So when you fail, what these words tell you
Is that it's your own fault

Did you not work enough?
Were you not dedicated?
Where was your belief?
Why did you not persevere?

Like she: millions per year
Like him: The platinum record
Like them: The champions of the world

We need to find the ones who can
At all cost
So we tell every woman, every man
That they can be a star as well

And we leave so many in the dust
In the dust of broken dreams

They are the ones who pay for us worshipping greatness
They are the ones who pay for us thumbing our nose at mediocrity
Lately someone told me: "I am just a normal worker, I deserve no respect"
Hearing this breaks my heart

Listen
Listen carefully

You are not "just" anything
Your job and your success
None of that defines you
If you can have the things you need
If you have enough to be happy
No one has the right to tell you you're a failure, cause you're not
Don't worship at the altar of success
Success is fleeting like the turning wind

This is what matters:

"Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."

I am not a Christian, but: Amen

You are unique
No one has ever been exactly like you
And no one ever will be again
No one has your story
No one has your life

Only you

If you tried your best and failed it's NOT your fault
If you tried your best you in fact did not truly fail
You just couldn't get where you wanted to go
There is no shame in that

So stop hanging your head low
Smile in the face of this truth I tell you
A truth you should already know
If not, here it is:

When you make someone smile you make the world shine
When you make someone laugh you cause a sound divine
To help a woman or a man
This is true greatness, this alone

Admire the greats all you want, I do too
But don't look away from what lies underneath
Cause sometimes it's a system that is truly rotten
And sometimes it should change, even if it would mean less greatness

Because sometimes the price of greatness are

The forgotten