2000 years ago, the Greek philosopher Epicurus advocated and practiced the idea of ‘lathe biosas’, meaning ‘live in obscurity’.
Get through life without drawing attention to yourself. Live without pursuing glory, wealth, power etc. Live in seclusion, anonymously, but enjoying simple & little things such as good food, company of friends, etc.
We hear and read about fabulously successful people. The celebrities who often hit the headlines. They are the survivors in the big race to fame, power & wealth. But they are few, a drop in the human ocean of 7 billion people. They may be successful to our eyes, but are they also happy?
Many happy & successful people lead obscure lives. They may not be the happiest of all or fabulously successful. They may not be extremely powerful or rich. They may just be moderately happy and successful. They knew where to stop and say ‘enough’.
When we see through this filter of moderate happiness & success, we can possibly identify a few such people in our circle. Leading simple, happy & obscure lives.
Does the continuous struggle for more power, wealth, fame, glory, recognition & approval become counter productive at some point? Not everyone wins the race. And among the few winners, not many lead happy & free lives. Extreme success is often accompanied by extreme expectations, commitment & responsibility. They are big & heavy anchors. They limit moves & choices. More success, less freedom.
The ladder of success extracts its toll at each rung. It is not easy to thrive & revel for long at the highest rungs. It may not even be worth it.
The higher we climb, the less obscure we become. The tolls increase.
We can choose to stop at the rung we are comfortable with. Say ‘enough’. We can even choose to go down a few rungs, towards more obscurity.
More the obscurity, higher the chances of living the good life.
One can live well in obscurity, but not many will choose to.
