Our most sacred purpose is to find the place where we fit best, and then contribute in the way that is best suited to each of us, taking into account the needs of the whole.
- . . . each of us can work to change a small portion of events. . . It is from numberless diverse acts of courage . . . that the belief that human history is thus shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance. [Robert F. Kennedy, “Ripple of Hope” address, June 6, 1966.]
- In music you can find your own niche. You can do what you want to do. There is really no job description. You have to find your own way, and that’s fun. [attributed to Hilary Hahn]
No one can do everything but each of us can do something. We may not be able to save the world single-handed but we can make a difference.
In a theatre troupe, some people will be well-suited as actors, others as costume designers, others as light technicians or set designers. The troupe’s best light technician may be perfectly suited to certain roles on stage. Can we imagine “The Wizard of Oz” without the incomparable Bert Lahr?
If everyone was a master chef, we might enjoy delicious food but on the other hand, who would grow it, harvest it and market it? In a world still beset by the modern version of tribalism, and taking all misgivings into account, we need soldiers “on that wall.” Perhaps no one contributes more to society than the mothers and fathers all over the world who devote their time and attention to rearing competent, respectful and responsible children. We owe thanks to the research scientist, the honest political leader, the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker.
The saying that “there are no small parts, only small actors,” refers to the importance of being personally fulfilled, and of playing our part in our communities, including the world. This is the concept of finding our niche.
Real
True Narratives
Biographies of great scientists:
- Kai Bird & Martin Sherwin, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer (Knopf, 2005), is the Pulitzer Prize winning “biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer, ‘father of the atomic bomb,’ the brilliant, charismatic physicist who led the effort to capture the awesome fire of the sun for his country in time of war.”
- James Costa, Radical by Nature: The Revolutionary Life of Alfred Russel Wallace (Princeton University Press, 2023), is about “the English naturalist who came up with the idea of ‘transmutation’ (now called evolution) at the same time as Charles Darwin, pushing the latter to publish On the Origin of Species in 1859.”
- Janet Browne authored two books about the father of evolutionary theory: Charles Darwin: Voyaging (Princeton University Press, 1995), “is about Darwin’s early life and the voyage of the Beagle.; Charles Darwin: The Power of Place (Princeton University Press, 1996): “In the first pages, (Browne) tells us explicitly that Darwin ‘not only lived his own life, he lived also in the lives of others.’ She is not only thinking about human lives.”
- Graham Farmelo, The Strangest Man: The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Mystic of the Atom (Basic Books, 2009): “(Dirac) came up with an equation, the Dirac Equation, which married quantum mechanics – basically the theory of the very microscopic, which is very different from the physics of Newton that we know – and Einstein’s theory of special relativity.”
Biographies of great mathematicians:
- Robert Kanigel, The Man Who Knew Infinity: A Life of the Genius Ramanujan (Scribner, 1991) is about “a self-taught mathematician hailing from India, who flabbergasted the snobby Cambridge scholars with his prodigious talent. It traces his extraordinary journey from a clerk in the Madras city to one of the most esteemed numbers-men in the world.”
- Mario Livio, The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved: How Mathematical Genius Discovered the Language of Symmetry (Simon & Schuster, 2005), “showcases the journey of Évariste Galois, a mathematical genius who sadly died at the tender age of 20. . . . Galois, despite his short life, managed to leave a lasting impact on the field of mathematics by solving the unsolvable equation of symmetry.”
- Stephen Budiansky, Journey to the Edge of Reason: The Life of Kurt Gödel (Oxford University Press, 2021): “Gödel’s ‘incompleteness theorem,’ which he presented in 1930, when he was 24, upended his profession’s assumption that mathematics should be able to prove a mathematical statement that is true. Gödel’s proof landed on a mathematical statement that was true but unprovable.”
Biographies of great artists and musicians:
- Frida Kahlo, The Diary of Frida Kahlo: An Intimate Self-Portrait (Abrams, 2005): “Published in its entirety, Frida Kahlo’s amazing, illustrated journal documents the last 10 years of her turbulent life.”
- Joanna Moorhead, Surreal Spaces: The Life and Art of Lenora Carrington (Princeton University Press, 2023): “Moorhead vividly brings to life the rebellious young artist who shared such a fiery affair with Max Ernst and the subsequent breakdown of her mental health. These early experiences are not merely biographical but often present pivotal moments that influenced Carrington’s Surrealist paintings, keeping the reader both captivated and aware.”
- Nancy Princenthal, Agnes Martin: Her Life And Art (Thames & Hudson, 2015): “Over the course of a career that spanned fifty years, Agnes Martin s austere, serene work anticipated and helped to define Minimalism, even as she battled psychological crises and carved out a solitary existence in the American Southwest.”
- Aidan Levy, Saxophone Colossus: The Life and Music of Sonny Rollins (Hachette Books, 2022), “mentions nearly every recording Rollins made, and nearly every concert Rollins ever played for which there is available information . . .”
- Jens Malte Fischer, Gustav Mahler (Yale University Press, 2011): “Idealistic, fantastic, grotesque, violent, tender, sarcastic, confrontational, confessional, the symphonies of Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) are among the most profoundly autobiographical of all composed music.”
Biographies of great authors:
- Irene Gammel, Looking for Anne of Green Gables (Key Porter Books, 2008): “Lucy Maud Montgomery grew up on Prince Edward Island, which became the model for Green Gables, but she kept much of her life private . . . Gammel combines biography and cultural history to tell the story not only of Montgomery but of her literary creation . . .”
- Philip Eade, Evelyn Waugh: A Life Revisited (Henry Holt and Company, 2016): “Eade skillfully narrates the ups and downs of the writer’s life, from his conversion to Catholicism to his determined work on Brideshead Revisited during wartime. Waugh’s episodes of outrageous behavior, heavy drinking, and generosity to fellow writers are all examined with admirable evenhandedness.”
- Justin Kaplan, Walt Whitman: A Life (Simon & Schuster, 1980): “A moving, penetrating, sharply focused portrait of America’s greatest poet―his genius, his passions, his androgynous sensibility―an exuberant life entwined with the turbulent history of mid-nineteenth century America.”
- Megan Marshall, Margaret Fuller: A New American Life (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013), is a “richly researched book that tells the remarkable story of a 19th century author, journalist, critic and pioneering advocate of women's rights who died in a shipwreck.”
- James M. Hutchisson, Ernest Hemingway: A New Life (Pennsylvania State University Press, 2016), “reclaims Hemingway from the sensationalism, revealing the life of a man who was often bookish and introverted, an outdoor enthusiast who revered the natural world, and a generous spirit with an enviable work ethic.”
Biographies of great athletes:
- Kobe Bryant, The Mamba Mentality: How I Play (MCD, 2018): “Conveyed via short, no-nonsense snippets and accompanying photos on nearly every page, the narrative, such as it is, reflects Bryant’s commitment to the game.”
- Keith O'Brien, Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball (Pantheon Books, 2024), “tracks the great ballplayer’s historic career and also tells a story involving gamblers, gangsters and drug addicts.”
- Andre Agassi, Open: An Autobiography (Vintage Books, 2009), “confirms what Agassi’s admirers sensed from the outset, that this showboat, with his garish costumes and presumed fatuity, was not clamoring for attention but rather conducting a struggle to wrest some semblance of selfhood from the sport that threatened to devour him.”
- Rickson Gracie, Breathe: A Life in Flow (Dey Street Books, 2021): “From Brazilian Jiu Jitsu legend Rickson Gracie, a riveting memoir weaving the story of his stunning career with the larger history of his family dynasty and Jiu Jitsu.”
- Roland Lazenby, Michael Jordan: The Life (Little, Brown & Company, 2014): “. . . the exhaustive narrative of Jordan’s basketball career is written with appropriate awe.”
Technical and Analytical Readings
“Ikigai . . . refers to a sense of ‘life worth living’ . . . encompassing well-being . . . ‘purpose in life’ or ‘reason for living’ . . .” The practice appears to convey personal health benefits.
- Héctor García & Francesc Miralles, Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life (Penguin Random House, 2016).
- Tim Tamashiro, How to Ikigai: Lessons for Finding Happiness and Living Your Life's Purpose (Mango Publishing Group, 2019).
- Justin Barnes, Ikigai: Discover Your Reason for Being (Sterling Ethos, 2018).
Other writings, some more on point than others:
- Dan Buettner, Thrive: Finding Happiness the Blue Zones Way (National Geographic, 2010).
- Philip A. Loring, Finding Our Niche: Toward A Restorative Human Ecology (Fernwood Publishing, 2020).
- John Odling-Smee, Niche Construction: How Life Contributes to Its Own Evolution (MIT Press, 2024).
Photographs
Documentary and Educational Films
- Clint Eastwood produced a documentary about Thelonious Monk called Straight, No Chaser, after one of Monk's greatest compositions.
Imaginary
Fictional Narratives
Poetry
To this generation I would say:
Memorize some bit of verse of truth or beauty.
It may serve a turn in your life.
My husband had nothing to do
With the fall of the bank -- he was only cashier.
The wreck was due to the president, Thomas Rhodes,
And his vain, unscrupulous son.
Yet my husband was sent to prison,
And I was left with the children,
To feed and clothe and school them.
And I did it, and sent them forth
Into the world all clean and strong,
And all through the wisdom of Pope, the poet:
"Act well your part, there all the honor lies."
[Edgar Lee Masters, “ George Reece”]
Other poems:
- Pablo Neruda, “Ode to Tomatoes”
- Seamus Heaney, “Digging”
Music: Composers, artists, and major works
Every great artist – every “great” person in any field – has found his niche, but Thelonious Monk stands out in occupying his niche alone. Monk occupies a remarkably unique place in jazz, especially his striking of adjacent keys on the piano – it sounds like a beginner’s mistake, until you realize that this is part of what makes him the great Thelonious Monk. Of Monk, John Coltrane observed that he "talks about music all the time, and he wants so much for you to understand that if, by chance, you ask him something, he'll spend hours if necessary to explain it to you." Idiosyncratic personally and professionally, and a founder of bebop, Monk is recognized among the top handful of jazz giants. Shortly after Monk's death, his family founded the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz (now the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz), devoted to the education of young jazz musicians. Books about Monk are by Rob van der Bliek, ed., Robert D.G. Kelly, Gabriel Souls, and Youssef Daoudi. Here are links to Monk’s releases, live performances, documentary films, interviews, and some videos.
Another example of someone who found and occupied his niche with great distinction, Michel Plasson conducted French music perhaps better than anyone else.
- Claude Debussy, Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun)
- Debussy, La Mer (The Sea)
- Hector Berlioz, Symphonie Fantastique
- Gabriel Fauré, Requiem
- Fauré, orchestral works
- Maurice Ravel, Cantata Alyssa
- Ravel, Cantata Myrrha
- Ravel, Alcyone
- Georges Bizet, Patrie, Op. 19
- Bizet, L’Arléssiene, Op, 23
- Bizet, Overture in A minor/A major (1855)
- Camille Saint-Saëns, La Foi, Three Symphonic Pictures after the incidental music, Op. 130
- Emmanuel Chabrier, orchestral works
- César Franck, Symphony in D minor
- Franck, Symphonic Variations
- Jacques Offenbach, La Belle Hélène
- Offenbach, Orphée aux Enfers
- Gounod, Roméo et Juliette
- Jules Massenet, Hérodiade
- Choruses from French operas
- Albéric Magnard, Symphony No. 1, Op. 4
- Magnard, Symphony No. 3, Op. 11
- Magnard, Symphony No. 4, Op. 21
- Guy Ropartz, Symphony No. 3
- Erik Satie, Parade
- Albert Roussel, Évocations, Op. 15
- Roussel, Aux bords du fleuve sacré (1911)
- Arthur Honegger, orchestral works
- Maurice Duruflé, Requiem
- Paul Dukas, L’Apprenti sorcier (The Sorcerer’s Apprentice)
- Henri Duparc, Lénore
Compositions:
- Joan Tower, Strike Zones (2001) (approx. 21’): because percussion instruments strike things.
Albums:
- Joseph Tawadros, “Chameleons of the White Shadow” (2013) (71'): an oud, a banjo, an organ and a bass – and everyone plays his part.
- Cecil McBee Sextet, “Music from the Source” (1977) (45’): “t is as if each member were a unique piece of a puzzle, carefully placed to complete precisely the breathtaking picture intended. The music is adventurous enough to satisfy any aural daredevil who has not completely lost his or her sense of beauty, yet all the basic jazz values have been preserved with due reverence.”
- Andy Fusco, “Vortex” (2019) (61’): “. . . each man has a distinct voice and makes essential contributions to the record.”
- Steven Feifke, “The Role of the Rhythm Section” (2022) (38’), and “The Role of the Rhythm Section, Vol. II” (2024) (51’)
Music: songs and other short pieces
- John Fogerty, “Centerfield” (lyrics)
Visual Arts
- Claude Monet, Haystacks at Chailly at Sunrise (1865)
Film and Stage
- Big: on not growing up too quickly, no matter how talented you are.
- The Thirty-Nine Steps: I cannot tell you why this is a film about finding one's niche without giving away John Buchan's surprise ending.
- The Jazz Singer: a son gains a sense of forgiveness after breaking with tradition to follow his own artistic path.