My Life is Not an Apology - Ralph Waldo Emerson

My life is not an apology, but a life. It is for itself and not for a spectacle. I much prefer that it should be of a lower strain, so it be genuine and equal, than that it should be glittering and unsteady. ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

What do you feel Emerson meant by this quote? How might it apply to the writing life?

What is the difference between writing that is "genuine and equal" versus "glittering and unsteady"?

-- Janet