Yet
nothing sets us free from these alternations of hope and fear so well as always
fixing some limit to our successes, and not allowing Fortune to choose when to
stop our career, but to halt of our own accord long before we apparently need
do so.
By
acting thus certain desires will rouse up our spirits, and yet being confined
within bounds, will not lead us to embark on vast and vague enterprises.
A regularly
offered piece of advice is that “thinking big” is the key to success. As is so
often the case, what that might mean will depend upon our measures of value. Is
it big to have vast possessions, or is it big to have a vast soul? Is it big to
seek great power over others, or is it big to seek great power over oneself?
The
scale of our actions will be in proportion to the scale of what we cherish the
most, and whether what we cherish is in harmony with Nature.
Many people
will think that a “big” life must be broad in its scope. They wish to leave
their mark in as many places as possible, wrap their arms around as much property
as possible, and have their names heard as widely as possible.
It
barely occurs to them that a “big” life can be defined by its depth, not by the
quantity of what is out there, but by the quality of what is in here. There
does not need to be so much wanting, getting, and having as there needs to be
understanding, appreciating, and loving.
The
further I attempt to reach out and possess, the more I will face the limits and
restrictions of Fortune on my life. This will never satisfy me, because there
will never be enough to fulfill my appetites, and this will always frustrate
me, because things will follow their own paths, however much I try to force
them to follow mine.
When
this happens, it is not the world being unfair and unkind; it is Nature
reminding me to mind my business, to nurture and cherish what is rightly my
own.
It is
far wiser, and far more supportive of peace of mind, to want very little from
Fortune, to be completely satisfied with the humblest circumstances possible. I
should take only what I need to build the virtues inside me, and then be glad
to let the rest be.
This not
laziness, or defeatism, or settling for what is second best, but rather discovering
what is truly best in a place where many people won’t even bother to look.
It is a
life in accord with Nature, precisely because it respects the boundaries of my
own nature in relationship to the nature of other people and things. Let me
commit myself to what is rightly mine to have and hold, and not seek my own
happiness in anything that is extraneous to my own judgments and actions.
Less can
be more, in the sense that a simplicity of circumstances encourages a greatness
of character. There is never any need to feel limited by the world if I am
willing to be content with a mastery of myself.
Written in 10/2011
IMAGE: Aelbert Cuyp, Herdsmen with Cows (c. 1645)
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