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Dear
Marilyn,
"Fall seven times; stand up eight"
is a Japanese proverb that says a lot. Though many people fear failure
(as well as success), they can shift their perspective as they understand
more about both. On one level of understanding they can see that both
appear to be present in the lives of every person in a kind of woven
tapestry. In this level, they may ask what it means to fail and succeed.
Both appear to be a process of learning and becoming, and every part of
the process is a step on the path of life. And very often you can't
differentiate one from the other.
One of
my favorite stories is about Abraham Lincoln who was born into poverty and
was faced with defeat throughout his life. He lost eight elections, twice
failed in business and suffered a nervous breakdown. Then his time came,
and he finally won an election. You know what happened then! This office
was for President of the United States, and he became one of the greatest
presidents in US history. What was his soul learning from the seeming
losses? Maybe he needed to develop his strength for the huge mission he
came here to fulfill. Maybe he needed to be redirected toward something
that was large enough in scope to handle his greatness. So if we can reach
equanimity in both falling and rising, we can find peace in the process,
and we can be happy about everything in our lives.
Now here's the real truth: In the
eternal nature of the soul, success and failure have absolutely no reality
at all. From an expanded view, success and failure, yes and no, right
and wrong are illusory images on the backdrop of the timeless. As the poet
Rumi wrote,
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there
is a field. I'll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.
**********
Find out about Marilyn Gordon's new book, The Wise Mind,
coming very soon. Click here
for a preview.
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