Journal of Sacred Work

   The lure of the average is so very seductive. All our peers call to us to walk the trodden path. If we slip to mediocrity, we are chastised. If we soar to great heights, we are ridiculed with jealous attacks.
   This is why Jim Collins book, From Good To Great was and is so popular. He issues a stiff challenge to us and we know he is right. Others may envy us if we want to excel, if we want our lives to have meaning, if we abhor the average. Yet, for caregivers, only the best is acceptable. Presidential candidates often illustrate how tough it is to go from good to great…

  So many of us fall victim to the ordinary. It is so hard to live
outside the norm of our peer groups. Consider all three presidential contenders, each of whom has excelled in their
own way. Many people love Hillary Clinton. But even more have found
reasons to hate her. Barack Obama faces a similar fate in a different
way. For every person who admires his courage and eloquence, there are
an equal number who resent his success. And the same kind of fate
shadows John McCain and any other truly successful leader. To succeed means
to attract opposition. 
   In order to be loathed by some, you need simply pursue the path of excellence. Excellence breeds as much resentment as it does admiration. It takes so much courage to live Love.
   This is why we must pursue excellence independent of the opinion of others. The call of sainthood is the summons of something beyond us. When we heed this call, we live all of our best gifts.
   Fewer than five percent of America’s hospitals and charities are able to live their mission as it was written. Often, these organizations labor in anonymity because the status quo does not support Love.
   If you pursue the pathway of Love, you will face no competition. Living Love can be a lonely pathway whose rewards are other-worldly.
   If you are among the rare souls who truly believes in living Love, you must ignore the world’s opinions. Lovers must live for something transcendent. Lovers hear and adhere to a voice that sings above the noise of the world.
   If you live Love, you are rare and very special. Whether the world notices you or not, if you are living Love, your are living the best life has to offer. You are living a life free of fear.
   Does this ring true for you?  How would your life have to change is you lived Love at an even deeper level?

-Erie Chapman