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| Category: Spiritual Evolution |
Date published: October 18, 2004 |
 In a recent conversation with one of my oldest friends the topic of achievement came about. My friend was reviewing his life, and concluded that he was ready for some stability and achievement, although, at age 51, he considered himself somewhat old to still realize his idea of achievement.
When I asked my friend what, then, his definition of achievement was, he explained that it was about making a name for oneself; leaving a legacy through accomplishment on a scale that would impress this generation as well as some of the next.
My friend's statement slightly disconcerted me, although I could very well empathize with his desire to make a difference. However, as I explained to my friend when it was my turn to vent, my idea of achievement and leaving a legacy was far more condensed than his. In my vision, I told him, it was not so important to impress large crowds, but rather to make a decent, substantial, and lasting impression on but one - or a few. I elaborated that the power of achievement, as far as I was concerned, did not lie in numbers, but in profundity.
I further expressed my concern to my friend that, like him, too many of us get discouraged when we find that we just don't make the huge breakthrough we once envisioned. And through that, we tend to overlook the invaluable transmutation we did manage to incite within the few we actually touched.
However, it is this minuscule perceptional shift that, in my opinion, can cause the immense difference between a feeling of failure and a sense of achievement: the realization that real greatness does not necessarily lie in numbers, but in the degree to which our spirits ignite a permanent change in one or a few others.
In "The Way of Life," one of the translations of the Tao Te Ching, by R. B. Blakney (1955), there is a passage that states, "A block of wood untooled, though small, may still excel in the world" (p. 85). To me, this phrase is infinitely encouraging, as it pinpoints exactly the essence of my here-above posted assertions.
Real value is neither provided by the level of one's heritage or the perceived quality of one's substance, nor by one's education, experiences, worldliness, networks, circle of friends, neighborhood, status, ethnicity, age, gender, health, appearance, or wealth; but by the creativeness one applies within one's capacities in order to elevate above all expectations, including the own, and establish a positive and lasting transformation - whether large- or small scaled.
The world is full of heroes, although many of them are unsung. Yet, the most rewarding facet of being a hero is not the multitudinous praise you get, but rather the sacred conviction you carry that at least one light shines brighter because you were here.
And that, my friend, is real achievement.
About the Author:
Joan Marques emigrated from Suriname, South America, to California, U.S., in 1998. She holds a doctorate in Organizational Leadership, a Master's in Business Administration, and is currently a university instructor in Business and Management in Burbank, California. You may visit her web sites at http://www.joanmarques.com and http://www.spiritcounts.com
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