Dear friends,
A seemingly simple question this week, but one that is, in fact, not so simple. What is true victory? We tend to think of victory as accomplishing some goal. But that is the simplest form of victory. Ultimate victory is accomplishing the ultimate goal: Putting aside our little selves and merging with Spirit in true freedom.
If that is so, victory is best measured in terms of directional improvement, not absolute accomplishment. Has a scientist who has learned many of the secrets of the universe—but not all of them—failed? Has a high schooler who has not learned all he will eventually learn failed? If he masters even a single subject that was previously beyond his grasp, has he not been victorious? Has a star athlete who drops a pass or strikes out now and again proven himself to be a failure? Why, then, do we view our misses as failures, or even worse, label ourselves that way?
We are here to learn what we need to learn. No one can possibly know everything, or learn everything in one lifetime (or many, many more than that, I’m afraid!). When we set a target and do not hit it, there are two possible responses: “Gosh, I’m such a ____ (fill in your favorite negative self-talk)”, or, “Hmmm... I wonder what I can do better next time?”
We are embarrassed by our “failures” as if we are supposed never to make a mistake—or even many mistakes. Instead we can be grateful for the errors we make, lest we become like a school child who hides his mistakes from his teacher. The Divine Teacher knows all of them anyway, so we are really only hiding them from ourselves. This robs us of our main purpose here on earth—to go through life as a student and learn what we can. May we always take joy in seeing our mistakes, for that is what will ultimately bring us the greatest success: Freedom in Spirit.
Blessings,
David G., manager
for the Gang at East West