Living life triumphantly unnoticed

In 1969, the Columbia Missourian newspaper interviewed Michael Collins, the third astronaut joining Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong, on their historic trip to the moon.

"While the world breathlessly watched and listened for the moon walk by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, Mike Collins cruised in orbit overhead. His job was to undertake emergency action if something went wrong, or to pick them up from the lunar module for the return to Earth if everything went right.

"His great achievement — his fondest hope — is to be triumphantly unnoticed."

It is easy to become discouraged when the lion's share of the attention falls on one or two. Some folks seem made for attention. They thrive on it, work better in the midst of it. But all the attention in the world wouldn't have helped Neil Armstrong get back to earth if Michael Collins had decided to grab a little attention of his own and fly on home without him.

We need the Michael Collins in this world.

We need the Neil Armstrongs too, but too often, while the Armstrongs are retelling their stories to whomever will listen, the Collins of the world are still out there plugging along, doing their work, "triumphantly unnoticed."

Kind of like phenakite.

Attribution: Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com – CC-BY-SA-3.0. No alterations.

The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago has a wonderful exhibit crammed in the corner of the third floor. The exhibit features gems and jewels from around the world, including phenakite.

Phenakite is actually rarer and more durable than diamonds, but you don’t ever hear about it because it’s not “flashy enough” to compete with diamonds.

Michael Collins wasn’t flashy either, but all three astronauts made it home thanks to him.

Chances are you’re a lot like phenakite — you get the job done without a lot of fanfare, without a lot of flash. And though it may not always be fun to be unnoticed, how lost the world would be without you.

“I’ve always felt that the next little step is the one to be concerned about. I’ve never thought, ‘Well, where is it all going to lead?’” Astronaut Michael Collins