I accepted and believed a myth without reservation for years, if not decades. At the core was the premise; I had to shape “who” I was if I wanted to achieve success. There are reasons for my belief, many of them grounded and factual. What I never question was the connection between the premise and the destination.
Is success moving up a corporate ladder, having experiences, or even being successful in terms of having a family? If so, should one grasp the beliefs which are the most effective at getting one to one’s definition of success?
With gray hairs, time, and a roller coaster of high and low experiences, I see success quite different than I did in my youth. As I replay my journey with the new definition, the experiences and relationships along the way speak to intensity, living life to the full, and happiness. I have also embraced the lessons which came with the journey and a greater truth.
It is in our willingness to live life openly and as-is that one finds one’s true connections with others, even Divinity herself. Success comes when you can say of God and the people close to your heart, “I’m an open book to you; even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking.” (Psalm 139.2)
It may be expedient to filter who and what we are, but it is not helpful in the story of our lives. My first lesson emerged with the discovery that it is better be honest than to live in a bubble where even we do not see what is in the mirror.
God’s hands, voice, and ears are all around us, each willing to assist in our journey to be better than we were. I discovered it was never about the filters I applied. It was always about the willingness to be accepted for who I really was and am.
Every human being is special in her or his own way. As priceless as each is, they can be better. It is in accepting the as-is that the to-be is born.
