20 Jan The wealthy begger
A mystic was praying silently. A wealthy merchant approached the mystic and held out a bag of gold coins saying “I know you will use this money for God’s sake. Take it with my blessing.”
“Wait,” said the mystic, “I’m not sure if it is right for me to take this money. Are you a wealthy man? Do you have more money at home?”
“I have at least one thousand more gold pieces at home,” proclaimed the merchant arrogantly.
“Do you wish you had a thousand more gold pieces than that?” asked the mystic.
“Why yes, of course. Every day I work hard to earn more money.”
“And do you wish for yet a thousand gold pieces more beyond that?”
“Certainly. Every day I pray that I may earn more and more money.”
The mystic pushed the bag of gold back into the merchant’s hands while saying “I am sorry, but I cannot take your gold, a wealthy man cannot take money from a beggar.”
“How can you call yourself a wealthy man and me a beggar?” the merchant replied angrily.
The mystic explained, “I am a wealthy man because I am content with whatever God sends me. You are a beggar, because no matter how much you possess, you are always dissatisfied, and always begging God for more.”
For me this story touches on how setting goals requires a deep reflection on what it is we are ultimately seeking. Most of us ultimately yearn for long term contentment but we want it on our own terms and lack the strength to be honest about what is getting in the way of us becoming content with our lives.
A person who thinks they are unhappy because they are unpopular and disliked may form the opinion that they are unpopular because they are poor and other people are shallow snobs. When they acquire money and find they are still unpopular it is easier for their ego to believe that they obviously just need even more money. It is too uncomfortable for them to accept that there may be a genuinely good reason why they are disliked and that their goal should be to find out what it is and change themselves.
Only when we have a sincere desire to see the world and ourselves as realistically as possible can we set real goals and achieve real results. That requires us to be able to appreciate criticism which is the subject of the next blog.
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