Daily Meditation: Sunday, January 18, 2004

Ambition - do not confuse it with the high ideal

01/18/2004

So many people insist on seeking and holding onto positions and roles they are not prepared for and are incapable of fulfilling. And they are proud of their obstinacy, because they want to show the whole world that nothing will stop them, that nothing will make them bend or yield. It is very good to want to surpass oneself, to be ambitious, but ambition which is not founded on the appropriate qualities to match can only be harmful. That is why, more than ambitions, it is important to have a high ideal, which is not the same thing. Yes, we must not confuse ambition and ideal. Ambition seeks visible, tangible, material success, whereas a high ideal seeks only inner, spiritual progress. This is what disciples of a spiritual teaching must understand, so that they are never tempted to use initiatic knowledge for egotistical or personal ends. How many people who were unable to succeed by means of their talents and their work have tried to obtain power, money and glory by using initiatic science! Well, they should know that this is the best way to become lost.