The word I wish I had understood when I was young is “winning”. This may sound odd in a world where everything is measured by the number of wins. I invite you to walk with me through my revelations.
The first revelation was in the myth that I could win by myself. I slowly began to realize that every success I had came with the writing of others. The signatures of individuals who gave me instruction, patiently mentored me though my impatience, and supported me when I struggled through my fears, doubts, and failures were inscribed on my heart and mind. Winning is never about the one, but the many.
The second revelation centered on the definition of winning. I realized I was defining outcomes as winning. Successful outcomes, especially with singular recognition, constituted winning. When I applied this to how I could win in life, the definition came up short. If life was measured by the outcomes of a few events over a lifetime, what did it mean to live life to the full? Life slowly took me to a place where I see winning was not an outcome, but as a choice. Winning comes, from Life’s lessons, in choosing love, compassion, and community over self.
The third revelation was who really deserves the credit for the joys, wonder, and awe one can experience during a lifetime of living life to the full. What if the question of winning was merely a simple choice?
If winning is defined as an eternity of living with joy, wonder, awe, love, and community, then winning now can be as simple as choosing the one who is defined by that desire. It is the same Divine entity who “who fills the sky with clouds, preparing rain for the earth, then turning the mountains green with grass.” (Psalm 147.8). It is the same Divinity who leaves us with Whispers in our daily lives, guiding and calling us into relationship and the embrace which comes with our choice that care, kindness, and love come first in every moment, decision, and choice.
