LUCID FULFILLMENT

LUCID FULFILLMENT

“I cannot teach you anything, but I can only help you seek knowledge within yourselves, which is much better than transmit you my little wisdom.”

SOCRATES

 

The word sucess makes me feel uncomfortable. Perhaps because the term has been perverted by mistaking it for achieving easy notoriety out of commitment, integrity and effort, or clichés that have more to do with vanity than with true fulfillment.

In its etymology, success comes from the Latin voice “exitus” which in turn comes from “exitere” which means “exit”. We could speculate then that the true meaning of success can be only evaluated at the end of our life, our “exit”, when making our existential balance of amounts and figures and seeing the contrasts of our journey. It is perhaps when we can analyze, from the necessary perspective, what we have learnt, what we are left with and what is worthwhile, what was truly important, what has made us grow and especially what and how we have made for our environment.
Opposite to success, I find the word fulfillment very friendly, firm, right, strong. Fulfilling implies shaping reality, doing. Realization also speaks of the fulfillment of a desire, but in this case vanity and pedantry are left behind, the outside noise does not come up. And more importantly, fulfill speaks of awareness, to realize, to wake up.

Thus, fulfillment is lucid, it is discreet and humble and talks of success in our psiké essentially, for our soul, our potential, while success is about showing off, it is too often arrogant because it is more focused on materialism, and to have it is by no means a guarantee of lucidity.

On this post I want to share I have chosen a range of aphorisms, wise quotes and texts pointing out to what we are talking about, because everything they say refers more to fulfillment than to success. Their authors knew what they were talking about, as you will see.

I hope they inspire you.

 

“For me the work of man must be twofold: on the one hand, the pursuit of a career consisting of becoming what one is , and on the other hand, to the unexpected, an attitude worthy of a human. However is that they are two different objectives, as only by being oneself one gains dignity, and only through dignity we should grow.”

JOSÉ LUÍS SAMPEDRO

 

“I do not try to dance better than anyone.
I only try to dance better than myself.”

MIKHAIL BARYSHNIKOV

 

“Gardens are not made by saying, ‘How beautiful!’ and then sitting in the shade.”

RUDYARD KIPLING

 

“A man is made by his belief.
As he believes, he is.”

BAGHAVAD GITA

 

“Doubt and you will learn. Doubt is the most valuable luggage for geniuses and what lacks in the fanatics’.”

EDMOND H. FISCHER

 

“Being entirely honest to oneself is the best a human being can do.”

SIGMUND FREUD

“The best gift you can do to another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to them their own.”

BENJAMIN DISRAELI

 

“Treat a human being like he is and he will remain so.
Treat a man as he can be and he will become what he is to be.”

JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE

 

“Significance is not evident when we overcome the human level, but only when we recognize this human level, when we recognize our weakness.”

KARLFRIED GRAF DÜRCKHEIM

 

“No matter what we feel or know, no matter our potential gifts or talents, only action gives life. Many of us understand concepts such as commitment, courage and love, but in reality is to know means to do. Doing brings understanding, knowledge and actions become wisdom. We cannot cross the sea merely by watching the water.”

RABINDRANATH TAGORE

 

“Do not run, go slowly, where you have to go is to yourself.
Go slowly, do not run, the child of yourself, the eternal child, cannot follow you.”

JUAN RAMÓN JIMÉNEZ

 

Kisses and hugs,

Álex

 

Alex Rovira