“We ‘know’ celebrities but they don’t know us. These vicarious relationships create a new kind of loneliness — the loneliness of people whose relationships are with personae instead of persons.” (Dr. Mary Pipher)

Our culture is obsessed with celebrities, turning sports players and singers into heroes while dismissing quiet, ordinary, hardworking men and women. Often, we equate ordinary with boring. What’s worse, ordinary is becoming synonymous with meaningless.

The question we must ask ourselves is this: What are we willing to do and to sacrifice in order to attain “extraordinary” status? Young women frequent websites discussing the ways in which celebrities hide their eating disorders. Young men pump themselves full of steroids. Children are over-stressed from being over-scheduled. And for what?

True greatness, meaning, and purpose are often found in the everyday-ness of life — in the piano practice and in the meals prepared. The conversations around the dinner table and in the minivan — this is where real life occurs. Stop stalking celebrities; connect with those closest to you; find the meaning in the mundane.