While most of us will never be an emperor or a rock star, we can imagine what it would be like. We can imagine what it would be like to be recognized everywhere we go. To have thousands or even millions of people chant our name. To be constantly interrupted by a fan wanting a photo. To try to put on a disguise to go grocery shopping.
It would be so abnormal as to be dehumanizing. Indeed, this is what a lot of famous people say—that they often feel like an animal at a zoo.
The point isn’t to say that we should pity famous people or even that we should try to avoid fame. The point is to say that, when we come across a famous person who seems to have stayed normal, we should learn how they did it. In a recent profile of the Grammy-nominated phenom Maggie Rogers, who used her downtime throughout the pandemic to earn a master’s degree from Harvard Divinity School, the writer in residence at Harvard Divinity School Terry Tempest Williams was quoted saying,
“The bridge between a public life and private life is stillness, having time to remember who you are and who you are not. [Rogers] dances between motion and stillness.”
As it happens, this is how Marcus Aurelius stayed normal too. It’s how he avoided “becoming Caesarified,” as he put it, “dyed in purple.” He took time to rejoice in perfect stillness, to borrow his expression. He took time to slow down and clear his mind. He took time to look up at the stars, he said, to consider his insignificance. He took time to remind himself, repeatedly in his journal, who he is and who he is not.
You don’t need to be a famous person to get value out of having some practices in your life that allow you to slow down and check in with yourself. Maybe it’s journaling. Maybe strenuous exercise. Maybe it’s frequent calls with that childhood friend who knows you better than anyone, who keeps you grounded. Whatever it is, you must carve out time for stillness. You must do things that remind you who you are and who you are not. You must dance between motion and stillness. You must stay normal.
