Is “Success” Successful?
Imagine for a moment that reincarnation is real…that there is something that we are supposed to learn on a soul level in our existence as humans, and that if we don’t find it then we have to come back as a bug. That thing we are here to learn…will we find it as we achieve the success the world values? Will we learn it from accumulating wealth? Will we learn it from fame? Will we learn it from being healthy and having a nice home and car? Will a sexy spouse be the path to enlightenment? Perhaps, yet I doubt it.
I worked for a long time with someone who was worth many millions of dollars and had everything the world claims is “success.” Sadly, not only was he unhappy at his core, I occasionally heard people who knew him well remark that his mansion on the water was all the heaven he would ever see.
As Americans we are in a war of values…the things the media tell us are what really matters rarely satisfy. Like an addictive drug, one beautiful shirt or pair of shoes can soothe us briefly, yet we soon need another “fix.” Many of us raised in the Christian faith have been taught that hardship and adversity…the lack of “success”…is of the devil, and that if we were really serving God properly we would indeed have a big screen TV just like our pastor. With all due respect, this is nuts. The life of Jesus and virtually every major player in the Bible is a demonstration of triumph through adversity. Wisdom, grace and enlightment arises from the strife and struggles that we pray so hard to avoid. Do we need to seek difficult times? Not just no, but hell no. At the same time we would do well when those times come to “allow the wound”—-to lean into it for its revelation, knowing that the mystery and grace of God is conspiring for our soul’s growth. Our path to heaven rather than bugdom is often found in the crysalis of struggle.
Albuquerque Divorce Mediator Kelly Vickers offers mediation, pastoral counseling and general peacemaking through MasterPeace. For more information please see www.MasterPeaceDisputeSolutions.com
