Gateway to the Dao-Field: Essays for the Awakening Educator By Av ...

While the meaning of success needs to be redefined, uncritical derision of those who are successful in material ways is also problematic. Many of these prosperous people are the leaders in creating the institutions that will further the nurturance of healers, lovers, artists, poets, educators, and others. Refocusing the idea of success to mean being a humane human being, with material success being seen as a potential accompaniment to this human beingness, seems to be a worthy undertaking. We need to work to develop the consciousness that can see both sides of polarized positions inclusively.

In my late teens, it occurred to me that freedom in a market-driven democracy depended on being financially independent. It seemed clear to my teenage self that without adequate financial resources, I would be subject to the will and whim of others and that my life would be more of a burden and liability that I would have to bear than an exhilarating and exuberant adventure. I recall when I was about 14 telling my mother that I was bored. I was typical in my statement, but something else was happening. I had a vague inner glimmering of the culture and my place within it, and I didn’t like what I saw. She responded, “You’re just like your father. You expect everything to be fun. You’ll see that life is not always interesting. Most of life is boring. That’s just how it is.” In retrospect, I realize that she wanted to protect me from the pain of the mundane aspects of her life and that she believed was the nature of life. I distinctly remember my very powerful and pervasive thought at that moment, “Not for me. My life will not be that way.” And, it has not been that way. At that point, I lacked the experience to appreciate the inner commitment that I was making—to move toward a personally meaningful life. Consonant with my age and the culture, I was thinking much more in terms of fun, excitement, and adventure. So, even though Dr. Seuss (1990) was not on my radar screen, his words fit my consciousness at that time: