Life is busy. Life is complex. Life is survival. Spanning everything is a reality we know well. Life is competitive.
There are two constants in my journey.
I dream. I dream big, crazy, unachievable dreams and wakes up thinking they can be real.
I compete. I do not compete to put others down. I relentlessly compete to realize my dreams.
I have come to understand a missing element in my dreams and competitive spirit. I miss masterpieces along the way.
Missing masterpieces is more than not smelling the roses. I ignore great accomplishments. In addition to losing out on the benefits of another’s experience, there is a more fundamental problem. I fail to see Divinity living within others and how care, kindness, and love follow.
My reaction is not unique. In the competitive world we live in, we teach and live as if our survival depends on what “we” do. The reminders to myself include the following.
My survival starts with my recognition that I am dependent on relationships and community for survival. Protection is more than a one-man job. Our supply chain of food, clothing, and shelter takes a community working with and for each other. Even hope depends on sources external to my consciousness.
My ability to contribute is never the whole story. Being smart, hardworking, and disciplined should not lead one to conclude that one is all knowing. Others bring what I do not have. Some bring what I have in bigger and better wrappers! I have come to appreciate that my abilities are only useful in proportion to the harmony I bring to my family and community. It is in collaborating that my abilities blossom.
In my rush to compete, I miss Life’s masterpieces. I fail to see majestic structures other built with the Great Architect. I miss Divinity’s masterpieces.
I am still dreaming and competing. I am also taking steps to embrace the masterpieces and evidence of Divinity’s hand engaged in life’s details. I am giving thanks to “the God whose skill formed the cosmos, His love never quits.” (Psalm 136.5)
