Inspiration, Aspiration, And Compassion

Victor Frankl, who was a Holocaust survivor, wrote on the essential nature of "Man's Search for Meaning." While in Auschwitz and other concentration camps, he discovered a simple but potent truth: those who had a reason to go on, such as loved ones they wanted to see again, or even some specific goal or life purpose, were by far more likely to survive than those who didn't.

What is it that drives some of us beyond the common "quiet desperation" or mediocrity? And what is it that all of us, at some level, are in fact seeking?


In our modern society of consumerism and materially driven excess, it's become all too easy to mistake "getting things" with success. We try desperately to equate acquisition with fulfillment. But no matter how much material wealth we accumulate, the sad truth is that "more" is never enough.

While necessarily subjective and very personal, a sense of purpose is nonetheless essential if we have any hope for true happiness and fulfillment in life. It is this sense of aspiration that moves us to become who we truly are, to reach for our highest potential.

But if it's not material success, what is it?

I would contend that even material goals, when seen rightly, are merely the carrot that draws us onward to the deeper and more fulfilling arena of "Being and Becoming", of striving to manifest more and more of our potential, or of what Abraham Maslow called "Self Actualization".

To be inspired, or "In the spirit", and to be caught up in the resulting aspiration that moves us to action,... or to contemplation,... or to whatever else our deepest intuitive Voice tells us unerringly will move us most directly towards our ever increasing potential, is inevitably the only source of true fulfillment and peace of mind.

What a crime it is that our materially driven "modern" society fights nearly ceaselessly to deaden and blot out this pure drive to inspiration and aspiration. And only those who are truly "awake" and alive in a real sense seem to be able to avoid the seductive call of consumerism.

But in each moment we can choose again. We can choose aspiration over desperation, and inspiration over numbness. And only in this choice can we hope to change the world. For here too lies the heart of true compassion.

The choice is ours.

What will your choice be?

By: Mitch Williams

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Mitch Williams is an international award winning sleight of hand artist, entertainer, speaker, and an authority on event planning, creativity, peak performance, and human potentials. He specializes in creating customized entertainment, educational, and self improvement programs for corporate and other groups. For more information, visit his website at: www.mitchwilliamsmagic.com

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