My uncle Bob was a priest who ministered at the bedside of the dying for the last thirty years of his career. I once asked him if there was any one theme that came up more than any other. He told me that by far the biggest theme was women who were bitter and angry that they had never lived out their own dreams, but instead felt “tricked” by society into putting all of their energy into “others”.
While times have changed, I always remember this story and the powerful lesson contained therein: that we are here on this planet to fulfill our own life’s purpose, not some socially driven agenda that does not have our best interests at heart. It is imperative that we take the time to distinguish between the two, and make conscious choices that will lead us to our own personal fulfillment.
We may not win any popularity contests following this path, but we will attain the far greater satisfaction of living our lives with purpose, power, and potential.
You have an awesome blog, and awesome story; I like it a lot. I wanted to add to this story that the two activities you mention, living our own dreams and living for others, are not mutually exclusive. Both can be done at the same time, to the enrichment of both, in my experience.
I climb, and have enjoyed climbing for many years, at a fairly high level….but I really enjoy seeing the joy and insight that arises in others when I introduce them to climbing. I’ll happily spend a weekend climbing 5.6 or 5.8 to introduce someone to our most unique of sports….even as I enjoy leading much harder single and multi-pitch routes.
Sometimes we find that our best interests really *are* simply the interests of others. 😉 Thanks.