The final hill

Tinian 10/25/07 The Hill…the final rise?

Each day I try to conquer the hill on Tinian I get a little farther. I have decided it is a little like boot-camp—the worst part is at the start, but after a while you get in shape, learn the ‘marine way’ and come out the other side a steel-hard human weapon (I do have flights of fantasy, don’t I?). The start of this long hill is boot-camp, but I have discovered that once over the first rise the ground levels quite a bit, so the walk is much easier.

Now that I have climbed that first rise several times, it is nowhere near as intimidating as it once seemed—although I continue to be put to shame by a young man on a bicycle that always seems to be riding up the hill as I descend! As far as I can tell, there are no gears on his bike—it is similar to a mountain bike—and is rather old, but up he goes every day on his way to work, perhaps at the airport.

I believe that I have made it to the last rise in my climb up the hill. It is another steep climb (not quite as steep as the first one), but it is at least another half mile to a mile away, so, once again, I must stop, turn around, and try again another day.

I have begun to wonder what I will do once I have conquered my hill. I will always remember something my father once said, while reflecting back on his life: “What do you do after you pay for the first round?”

My father, in spite of being raised by a terribly abusive father and in poor circumstances, has succeeded in almost everything he has tried. He was a good father, good husband, very successful businessman, active in the community, etc., etc., etc. So picture my father after another successful business venture, handing out cigars and buying drinks for everyone—having a real celebration to commemorate his success… Then what?

What do you do after you pay for the first round? If your happiness was tied to reaching a specific goal in life—whether it be a specific job, becoming wealthy, or any of the many things people spend their lives trying to accomplish—what happens once you reach your goal?

We have a wonderful local celebrity by the name of Walt Goodridge. He is known as the ‘Passion Prophet’. He is a positive thinker who has written books, articles, and often speaks at local symposiums, etc. He often speaks about success being a journey, not a destination. I am beginning to believe that he is right!

If we are relying on specific goals or destinations to achieve happiness, I don’t believe that we will ever find it. Because what happens once we have obtained our long sought-after goal? Does our passion for life end? Does our desire to work hard vanish?

We have all seen the results of such thinking: people who have worked all of their lives just so that they could retire and live the ‘life of Reilly’ end up dieing sooner than those who keep working. They have a greater percentage of depression, anxiety, and Alzheimer disease. Look at how many people who have won the lottery end up either losing it all, or becoming miserable in their wealth. Many actually wish they had never won at all. We peer with fascination and envy at the ‘lifestyles of the rich and famous’, as portrayed on TV and magazines, and then watch in horror as these same people destroy their lives with everyone watching. They all reached their goals. They should all be happy. But they are obviously very miserable.

Unlike so many others, I don’t have to worry about my next goal, or where I should go or what I should do after reaching the top of the hill …because I already enjoy the journey! I enjoy walking, I enjoy looking down upon the small village on Tinian, and I enjoy walking along the beach with my eternal companion at my side, listening to the waves break against the rocks. I enjoy life. But how did I get to this point? How does one finally begin to enjoy life when everyone around them is miserable? Believe it or not, it is the reward for living a way of life that brings universal and eternal consequences of good.

Every religion believes and teaches a form of Karma. Whether you believe in a personal God, or simply some kind of universal power or unifying force, there is a universal theme that runs through them all: the knowledge that our thoughts and actions have consequences.

Like all the other laws of physics we are so accustomed to accepting, our thoughts and actions have consequences. If we are positive in our attitudes, and spend our lives thinking good thoughts and doing good deeds we are rewarded by receiving blessings in our lives. Good things will happen to us, our relationships with people become stronger, and we will become happy and successful. It is a natural and universal cause-and-effect law. What goes around comes around. We sow what we reap.

Of course, the opposite is just as true! If we spend our lives thinking negative thoughts, carrying a chip on our shoulder and a negative attitude about life; if we think evil thoughts, gossip and backbite, and purposefully do harm to others, we are rewarded by receiving evil in our lives. Bad things happen to us, our relationships with people are weakened and destroyed, and we become unhappy failures. It is a universal cause-and-effect, and just like gravity, no one can escape it.

Happiness is not a lifestyle (think ‘lifestyles of the rich and famous’), it is a way of life. If our ultimate goals in life are to do good and to make others happy, we will not need to seek after happiness—it will find us!

So as I walked down the hill this morning, pondering about life and goals and passions, I came to the understanding that I had already found my Nirvana—I was living it.