Morning meditation - False friends and true enemies

Dr. Kent Keith's third paradoxical commandment says, "If you succeed, you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway." It is interesting how many people hate other's success. You would think they would be happy that other people are doing well, but seeing other people succeed seems to fill them with jealousy, competitiveness, and sense of deprivation that someone else has stolen the spotlight if only for a few minutes. This lack of joy and support for others is a poison which can undermine the viability of a community or a society and undermines its health. The individual and the organization, community, society needs to develop some immunity to such toxic attacks so that the success can be sustained and built on.

In the spiritual life, we develop and support an attitude of gratitude for success. Success is appreciated as a blessing and it is cause for celebration not denigration and sabatoge. In the spiritual life, there is an attitude of courage and fortitude to carry on in spite of the attacks, the undermining, the jealous attempt to diminish, to denigrate, or perhaps simply ignore the significance of achievement. As Dr. Keith says, "Succeed anyway." This takes perserverence, determination, and a recognition of Dr. Keith's first paradoxical commandment which is "People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway."