Every so often I hike the hills at dawn with a friend who's achieved a respectable degree of fame as a recording artist. His records sell, indeed he makes his primary living selling his music (which is every street busker's dream, I'd say). He gives well-attended concerts, and he's adored by his audience and fans. I asked him what it's like. "Well" he said after a few moments pause, "it's great ... but there's something missing" (uh oh, here we go again ...). "And what might that be?" I asked, "could it be what's missing is fullness? satisfaction? wholeness? completion?". As if stunned, he turned sharply to face me. "How ... did ... you ... know?" he asked, incredulous, "you just read my mind. In spite of all the dollars, in spite of all the fame, in spite of all the love, it all still sucks. It's not enough. It's not s'posed to be like this. Yet it is. And for the life of me I can't figure out why.". "You're one of the lucky ones" I said. "'scuse me? Lucky?" he said, curious. "Yes" I said, "you're lucky. You're on the back nine, and you found out. Now you can come home complete.". "OK, explain" he demanded tersely. Contrary to what we believe, nothing's wrong with still worrying, being anxious, and struggling even after we've achieved everything that's meant to vanquish all the above. It's just what we human beings are like. It's true that wealth and fame carry no guarantee of fullness, satisfaction, wholeness, or completion. That's just what they're like. And figuring out why, makes no difference. Playing the back nine until you see it's this way, sets up the possibility of a breakthrough on the way home. |
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