Ambition Versus Mastership

By Ralph M. Lewis, F. R. C.

[From The Rosicrucian Digest July 1942]

AS Rosicrucians, we are practical persons; to a great extent, realists. We see no harm in ambition, for ambition in itself is a desire for achievement. The thing which must concern us is what the end of our ambition should be, that is, whether or not it is worthy of attainment.

I have known men who have considered themselves failures in life, who have been discouraged and despondent because they measured personal success by just one thing--the content of their ambition, which they had not yet realized. Yet those same men were admired, in fact envied by others, because they had things in their lives which these others had not succeeded in acquiring, but which they considered of no importance. Sometimes those men overlooked their rugged health; they overlooked their domestic felicity, the fact that they had normal, healthy, intelligent children; they overlooked the fact that they had had a multitude of experiences and a broad outlook on life, because these things were not of their ideals.

Consequently you may be very much a master in your life, but it may so happen that the things you master are not sufficiently evaluated by you. One should continue to strive for success in business. That is a proper thing to do, especially if what it brings will be used in the right way. But also look about you. See how many things you now have that others do not. You may find that you are far more a master of the vicissitudes of life than you thought.

Sing the praises of what you have, as well as bewailing the lack of what you think you should have. Reach for a star, but while doing so don't trample the gems of the earth beneath your feet.

Rosicrucian Writings Online
Ambition Versus Mastership By Ralph M. Lewis, F. R. C. [From The Rosicrucian Digest July 1942] AS Rosicrucians, we are practical persons; to a great extent, realists. We see no harm in ambition, for ambition in itself is a desire for achievement. The thing which must concern us is what the end of our ambition should be, that is, whether or not it is worthy of attainment. I have known men who have considered themselves failures in life, who have been discouraged and despondent because they measured personal success by just one thing--the content of their ambition, which they had not yet realized. Yet those same men were admired, in fact envied by others, because they had things in their lives which these others had not succeeded in acquiring, but which they considered of no importance. Sometimes those men overlooked their rugged health; they overlooked their domestic felicity, the fact that they had normal, healthy, intelligent children; they overlooked the fact that they had had a multitude of experiences and a broad outlook on life, because these things were not of their ideals. Consequently you may be very much a master in your life, but it may so happen that the things you master are not sufficiently evaluated by you. One should continue to strive for success in business. That is a proper thing to do, especially if what it brings will be used in the right way. But also look about you. See how many things you now have that others do not. You may find that you are far more a master of the vicissitudes of life than you thought. Sing the praises of what you have, as well as bewailing the lack of what you think you should have. Reach for a star, but while doing so don't trample the gems of the earth beneath your feet.

Section Index		Home Page
Copyright © 2008 Aswins Rabaq. All Rights Reserved.

Rosicrucian Writings Online

Ambition Versus Mastership