A fulfilling life, episode 3: Contribution
February 15, 2008
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There are three elements to a fulfilling life and three qualities with which to address those elements. The three elements are:
- Inspiration
- Destination
- Contribution
And the three Qualities are:
- Leadership
- Service
- Joy
In the coming days I will write about these various topics. Today I will write about Contribution.
My father-in-law passed away almost two years ago. I remember many things about him, but one stands out that he shared with so many men of his generation. Being a part of World War II was the highlight of his life. It is remarkable to think about that, because 61 years passed since the end of that war. Didn’t he do anything worthwhile since that time? Of course he did.
I have to break a taboo here. The American Dream is a pipe dream. It doesn’t work. The reason it doesn’t work is well known, but you were afraid to say it. The American Dream is all about individual achievement, working hard, buying a house (in the suburbs) and raising a family. But that is not the reason the men of WWII thought that that fight was the most important part of their lives.
The American Dream suggests that you can build a great America by achieving a large house in the suburbs and driving an SUV to go grocery shopping. This is no longer true. The American Dream is destroying not just this country, but the entire planet. That is the price of our power hungry life style.
Everybody wants to be part of something larger then themselves, to express themselves fully. But self expression for its own sake rarely works. It works only when you express yourself in the service of a noble goal.
Individualism is a false aim. Individuals don’t thrive alone, the thrive with others, though not necessarily with all others.
It is not so much about sacrificing yourself as it is about becoming yourself. You become yourself when you express yourself fully in your culture, not apart from it.
We make up for ever decreasing social involvement with ever increasing material pursuit.
The Iraq war demands no sacrifice for those who are not soldiers. But it demands the sacrifices of the next generation which is saddles with mounting debts.
What really is important in peoples lives, what they really cherish is making a contribution. Really, think about this long and hard, because it requires a fundamental rethinking of life goals. The American Dream ultimately is all about yourself. But when you are at the end of your life, is the fact that you have bought your own home really what you want to think about? I didn’t think so. It is your contribution to the betterment of this world that is really going to make a difference. You will feel much stronger about your life if you know that you have contributed.
Your contribution doesn’t have to be that of say, Nelson Mandela. He is unique. But what do you remember: your house, or the fact that you brought a life into this world, and helped see that life develop? Did you make an extra effort because this child was deaf and everybody thought she was not too bright? That is an important contribution.
There is another reason why fighting in World War II was so important. Not only did these men and women make a tremendous contribution, they put their lives at stake for the sake of rescuing the world. Again, the American Dream states that safety is the first thing you need to achieve. I want you to be safe, trust me. But at the same time, am I not correct when I say that you will remember that effort for which you had to risk yourself? That time when you put yourself, your work, your house on the line.
What is your contribution to a pursuit larger than yourself for which you put yourself at risk? Figure that out and your life will be fulfilling.
Technorati Tags: life, contribution, sacrifice, goal-setting, self-improvement
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