There may well be a tendency for you to think that Great Men, these Great Men that books are written about, these who were presidents and their birthdays are celebrated or who have streets named after them or cities even – these you may think of as the extant Great Men. You may convince yourself that you don’t know any of the Greats. Of course, if you think that way, you are mistaken.
Unsung heroes are also great. There is not one person on Earth who does not have a significant impact on everyone else and, therefore, the world. You don’t have to directly engage with someone in order for him or her to have an impact on you. And vice-versa, you don’t have to engage with another in order to impact his life. If all are One, all are One. In effect, there are not Three Musketeers: There is One.
The way the hot summer sun has an impact on you. so does everyone have an impact on you. The famous Great Men are honored by the world. There are other Great People who are not honored except by a few others perhaps yet always so honored by Me. I see clearly, and I see near and far. If I tell you that each man and woman on Earth is to be so respected, I wouldn’t make it up. It is of every benefit to you and to the so-called other to follow My take on this.
This is the same as My saying that you can’t go by appearances. You cannot. You must not. You can’t believe in appearances, not pro nor con. There are many possibilities. You don’t want to cut yourself off from a splendid opportunity. I will tell you frankly that everyone you come across is a splendid opportunity for you to blossom regardless of what you think.
Of the many possibilities, the well-dressed well-polished person you meet could be a charlatan for all you know. All appearances can do is give you an impression. Impressions are not always true. A person who does not present himself well could be a millionaire, and you know how you admire wealth.
You can’t know ahead of time which ones of all the ordinary-seeming people who surround you will be angels in your life in one disguise or another. No matter, it is for you to be open to all possibilities. You certainly don’t want to cut anyone out and certainly not yourself. You could be Cinderella. You just don’t know it yet. Consider, if men and women were to choose mates based on looks, what would the world be like? Consider, if everyone could see beneath the surface, what would the world be then?
The future is spoken of, and yet the future does not really exist any more than the past. Of course, past and future are real enough to you. It is something like your being on an escalator. As the escalator rises and passes different displays, you may see these upcoming displays as the future fast-approaching.
And when you hop on escalator going down, you recognize the displays and call them the past.
In the Reality of which I speak, you don’t get off the escalator. Where are you? You are riding on the escalator. In the world, as you look around and think, you have your perception and misperception of many things. Everyone rides the escalator the same, and yet each see different sights. This is life in the world.
In Heaven, there is no space and no time for all you perceive. Riding on the escalator is a dream you dreamed, and you are sure that it was real. It was real to you. It still is. It is real and vital to you. Earth life is a masquerade party that everyone believes is real. Regardless of the costume anyone wears, everyone is a Great Person and needs to be recognized as such. The man in rags is not a beggar. In Truth, he is a Prince, yet, in the world, he is perceived otherwise. You perceive him otherwise, and you deprive him, and so you deprive yourself.