"It is not work that kills men but worry. Work is healthy; you can hardly put more on a man than he can bear. But worry is rust upon the blade, it is not movement that destroys the machinery but friction. Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects of you."
Henry Ward Beecher
When we fear, we are defeated. We pay a price for what might never happen. We waste the present for a conjured up future. We doubt our own ability for a brighter day. Most of us are too busy living in the future that we have little time to enjoy the present. Measuring ourselves against others is a waste of time. It only encourages despondency.
It is not that we cannot measure up to others. It is simply because we perceive an answer that is truly clouded in a shroud of mystery. We are making it up as we go along. We have an other's life envisioned in our minds and expanded beyond truth. We pay the price of envy and jealousy by fearing our own inabilities and destroying our own striving towards success.
In effect we have given up the fight and surrendered before we began the challenge. It can't be said enough that life is not about winners or losers. Life is striving for complacency and peacefulness. It's about appreciating what we have and truly be totally happy with what we have. It's recognizing how much we have.
Doing an inventory of the people we love and the things we cherish might be a reminder of how blessed and fortunate we really are. Striving to have more spiritually is a greater goal than reaching for more material objects. If one observes those with a tremendous amount of objects, one notices that it is never enough and those people are striving for more material items. Does it end? Do we ever feel content?
I believe contentment is the essence of success. Those who cherish what they have are happier than those who believe they need more. Wants and needs are two different animals. My father always said don't ever let "things" own you, you should own the things. As soon as you can't do without some item it owns you.
If you can let material things go by the wayside, then they don't own you. Our thoughts should be on a higher good and a higher self. Strive to be a better you and help others to do the same. It's like a boat taking on water. If we work together to empty out the water we'll make it to shore. If we decide we've done enough and that other person over there should do it then we'll all sink.
So what if we worked harder or longer or faster. We all made it safely to shore. Would it have pleased us to see them swallowed up by the water? Of course not we say. Yet we compete and fear losing or not measuring up to another. Trudging through problems together and rejoicing in victories, focusing only on the goal of a happy spirit, unites and brings us a peace and fearless life. It will be a life well spent.
"The game of life is a game of boomerangs. Our thoughts, deeds and words return to us sooner or later with astounding accuracy."
Florence Scovel Shinn
"I have learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our disposition, and not on our circumstances."
Martha Washington
