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Today's
Meditation:
Numbers.
Somehow we learn as we grow up that more is better, that
quantity somehow trumps quality, even though we have many
sayings and refrains that remind us that just the opposite
is true. How many people do you know who want to
have all the movies they can in their collection, or all
the baseball cards or songs or even cars? The more
the better, right? The more people, the merrier the
party?
Nope.
What people know about us is much more important than the
number of people who are familiar with us. There are
many people who are considered to be the life of the
party, who everyone likes to be around, but whom nobody
would trust with their money or possessions. There
are people who are popular actors or performing artists or
athletes that many parents wouldn't allow to come anywhere
near their kids, because they know that these people are
horrible role models when it comes to ethics and values.
We
all have our spheres of influence. For most of us,
that sphere is pretty small, and it includes relatively
few people. But what do these people know us for--
our honesty and integrity and helpfulness, or our
dishonesty and lying and selfishness? If we're truly
going to be making positive contributions to the world,
then we must consider what people know us for when we try
to contribute, rather than focusing on how many people
know of our actions and deeds.
Life's
not about numbers-- life is about quality. And when
we come to know this fact truly, we can limit our attempts
at affecting more people and then affect fewer people much
more deeply, in much more positive ways, as we focus on
being honest with ourselves and others and committing acts
of which we're very proud.
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