Fame and Blame

“Do you know what I think our greatest concern should be? Becoming detached from our lives and relinquishing our self-importance. All we need to do is tell the truth and hold it up for the greater glory of God. Fame and blame should be equally meaningless to us. In fact, those who risk everything for God will find that they have both lost it all and gained it all. I’m not claiming to have achieved this kind of equanimity myself, but I’m working on it.” Teresa of Avila, The Book of My Life (1562)

When I read Teresa’s words, I have a feeling she’d have lots to say about the “fame and blame” lifestyle of the 21st century. Most of it would likely be a repeat of what she counseled her Spanish friends in 1562. Teresa encourages us to detach from ourselves and work for the Holy One. She writes, “All we need to do is tell the truth and hold it up for the greater glory of God. Fame and blame should be equally meaningless to us.”

How different this attitude is from the way many people think today. In 1968, American artist and pop culture guru Andy Warhol was quoted as saying: “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” What he predicted has certainly come close to being true, and through the years people have become more consumed with fame and blame than ever.

With the world’s increasing emphasis on Google searches, reality shows, and YouTube videos, many people—even people of faith—find themselves striving harder for their 15 minutes of fame than they do to make God’s kingdom come. It is easy to succumb to this way of thinking because we are surrounded by it. How can we maintain wisdom in the face of all this emphasis on self? We can follow Teresa’s advice to work on becoming detached and relinquishing our self-importance all the while knowing that Teresa herself found these skills to be difficult to accomplish.

As Teresa says, equanimity is lifetime work…May we begin today and support each other in the effort.