On the Limitations of Worldly Achievement

May 3, 2011 in Meditations | Permalink

Throughout the internal progression towards maturity and wholeness, man first seeks pleasure. In this pursuit a growing person will recognize the vanity of the aesthetic life, of responding to impulses, instant gratification, and the basic rules of morality often broken in obtaining this pleasure. Hedonism is a valid aim of life, if checked by dignity, integrity, and respect, however it never deeply fulfills man enough to serve its true purpose, which is to distract from the nagging shadow in the hidden corridor of the mind constantly reminding him of his ultimate existential dissatisfaction by asking every so often, “Is this it?” Solitary, individualized pleasure does not plentifully feed one’s total nature. Leaving behind momentary trivialities, man continues towards a form of pleasure with an expanded scope that includes a social aspect and thus the lives of others beyond just his own. This new pleasure is worldly achievement, and the attempt to attain this success produces a larger, sweeter fruit, but it is still fraught with limitations.

Some portion of worldly achievements and success are a necessity for the upholding of civic and familial responsibility. But to pursue them as an end in themselves is to inevitably confront their limitations in regards to absolute satisfaction. As with most things, social success is precarious and oftentimes fleeting. In addition to this impermanence, it is exclusive to the individual and his cohort, and thus competitive. To obtain it is to deprive another of it. It cannot be shared fully, and when shared it is depleted somewhat, as opposed to multiplied. Psychological and spiritual boons grow exponentially when passed on and deprive a person only of ignorance and fantasy. These are worthy pursuits with far-reaching gains. The achievement of worldly gain is considerably a zero-sum game.

Another limitation of worldly achievement is that the drive for it is not one that can be satisfied, for it directs itself towards a reward that is a substitute. A distraction cannot satiate a desire, especially one misdirected and ill informed. When the principal target is a dynamic, moving goal, such as fame or riches, it is much like sprinting towards a carrot on a stick. The immediate prize remains as distant as the ultimate goal, which is a taunting and receding horizon. Unfortunately for the untrained, as needs decrease greed increases. This greed is far too self-centered to provide true satisfaction and perpetual enthusiasm. One may eventually climb the mountain to find himself alone on his throne of lies, cheats, regrets, and shame, and still the persistent question of “Is this all?” remains. No amount of distraction obscures the suspicion that there is more to reality than hedonic pleasures.

There is something more than hedonic pleasures, and this is the final limitation met before the abandonment of the pursuit of worldly achievements. These social successes are ephemeral. As is the body, so are the treasures of this existence as transitory as time. Riches, recognition, and control will not survive bodily death. Wealth, fame, and power pass. Because man is capable of an expansive worldview including infinities and eternity, building an empire on temporary foundations only distracts as he flails wildly in the dark searching for a ground of being which is not here. Here is groundlessness. Plant seeds in the soil of futility and reap rotten fruit. Seek spiritual interests and all of mankind enjoys compounding gains.

Immediate and social pleasures are not to be repressed, for they are an integral part of growth, providing great stimuli and opportunity. If care is taken to follow a respectable moral code, then this pursuit can lead one through to more satisfactory ends. A child should have access to his toys, but upon becoming a mature adult, such things will be put away. Worldly achievements are limited by their impermanence, individual confinement, and inability to satiate the spirit of man. The aesthetic life is attractive to the eye that burns with the fire of greed, but the ascetic life sheds the unnecessary for simplicity. Without distraction, one is free to attempt to answer that specific question… “Is this truly all there is?”

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