Verse 45: Great Accomplishments

Verse Forty-Five

A great accomplishment might seem to be lacking - its usefulness hasn't declined.
A great fullness might seem to be washed away in an instant - its usefulness hasn't ended.
Great skill might seem to be awkward.
Great gains might seem like retreats.
Great straightforwardness might seem distorted.

Moving quickly overcomes the cold.
Keeping still overcomes the heat.
A clarifying stillness occurs when everything in the world has been settled.

~ Nina Correa translation ~

In today's society, there is no shortage of people who will tell you how great they are. You can see this mentality at work on scores of blogs in which the author spends an inordinate amount of words detailing their many accomplishments and amazing feats. Then there are the various athletes and entertainment celebrities who promote themselves and their lifestyles whenever and wherever they can find a microphone and a camera.

People seeking political office are sometimes the worst of the lot! Their campaign ads attempt to make us believe these people are saints.

But truly great people don't need the hype. They do what needs to be done without fanfare. They don't need your praise to feel good about themselves. They don't crave standing ovations and plaudits. They don't want statutes built in their likeness nor awards presented for their compassion. It is precisely because they shun the label of greatness that they are, in deed, great.

While surfing the internet earlier today, I found an orphaned blog, The Categories Within, which provided a brief analysis of Verse 45. Part of what this fellow wrote is:

If you are great, then there is no need to advertise. The people behind the products don't trust our judgment, so they make it for us. That's the commercial world we live in. How much greatness is contained in our commercial world? Not much.

Most greatness is contained in our spiritual world. But we don't "see" people attracted to it because it doesn't advertise. The opposite of advertisement is discovery. Greatness is found from within. Our heart or soul recognizes greatness, and when it tells the brain, the brain realizes its been duped the whole time in the commercial/material world.

I really like the way he differentiated between advertising and discovery. The former is a means of conveying "information" to you (external); the latter is something you do yourself (internal).

So, my hope for today is that we can discover the greatness that resides within each of us. It's there underneath our all pretenses and hubris. It can be very difficult to find because, unlike our egos, it doesn't run around announcing itself screaming, "Look at me! Look at me!"

We can only find it and allow it to nurture us when we are still. It is only when we can cast aside our cravings for recognition, status, and self-importance that we are ready to claim greatness.

This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.