I came across this small passage when I was reading the true story behind a recent film called "The Soloist". I liked it a lot and thought I would share it with everyone...
SUCCESS
My friend asked me a question
I could not readily answer.
"Why do people who lie and cheat
Always seem to do better in life
Than people who try to do the right thing?"
A philosophical answer would not do;
She needed a practical response.
A theological answer would not do;
She already knew what that was.
We examined a specific case that troubled her.
An employee was told to fake product test results,
If he lied, people might be harmed.
He could not lie so he was fired.
Someone else faked the results;
The product was made.
The company is successful;
The former employee is bitter and destitute.
Her question to me:
"Why was evil rewarded and good punished?"
She wasn't satisfied with the standard answer:
"The case isn't over yet;
We don't know the final outcome."
It wasn't the final outcome she cared about.
"Why did doing the right thing
Produce such bad results?"
And more importantly,
"Why does that always seem to be the case?"
I couldn't give her a quick response
But her questions made me wonder.
Is apparent success true success?
Is it incorrect for me to think
That outward and inner success could be different?
Is it really true that the pain of doing right
Ultimately prevails over the ease of doing wrong?
How long will it take for the fired employee to believe
That what he did - in the end - was best for him?
What if he never believes that it was best?
I can listen to quick, standard answers:
Doing the right thing is always right.
Without suffering you can't experience true joy.
Striving is the essence of life.
You can only gain after you experience pain.
Everything always works out in the end.
Yes, I know that getting to the end that matters,
But how I get there matters most.
I have learned
The quick, standard answers are true
But they don't ease the day-to-day struggle.
They don't give me all the help I need to live my life,
For living life is no simple matter.
I'm just beginning to understand the adage
"Wisdom comes with age."
A successful life
Always incorporates good and evil,
And in the struggle
Sometimes evil seems to prevail.
But while I'm in the midst of the struggle
I cannot say that evil has won.
Only when I cross the bridge to the other side
Of the conflict can I call the results.
Only after I have experienced the entire event
Can I say which side has won.
That takes time -
Sometimes a lifetime.
So, what are your thoughts on this passage?
4 comments:
i hav lots of questions pondering ma mind after i read the passage ......the passage says "to say which side has won takes time sometimes a lifetime" .....well if its going to take time-frame which the sufferer can bear its fine....but if its going to take too long a time like for instance a life time (as said by the passage) then how long do u say can one bear this pain of not getting rewarded for his honest methods...take for example ur case ,if the sufferer is going to get sacked once or twice may be he will bear, but just imagine the case of him getting sacked some 10 times , dont u feel the sufferer then has no option but to change his ways because the mind always tend to evolve based on its bitter experiences....am not trying to say u shud cheat and lie to cope up with professional demands everytime ...but how long can one bear these???if ur saying we need to bear this pain for a lifetime,it would certainly require a very strong mind (a saints mind)...but we r all humans ....we cant bear anything beyond limits...so ultimately where do we draw the boundary for maintaining our honesty??can u pls elaborate little on ma question with some examples.... i wanna be honest to the maximum extent possible but am afraid whether the current professional setup would actually allow me...am just a 2nd yr student and not really sure what stand u adults have on these issues so pls bear with me and am sorry if u felt my views were childish..
sorry for the late reply.. been busy with some work...
and..dai..i'm just 21..athukulla don't make me an uncle by calling me an adult.. :-D and you go the next level of maturity near the end of your college life.. it'll eventually come to pass.. don't worry..
coming to the point...I would like to pull up a small quote from
the first book of Corinthians, 10:13, "but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.". I believe that this verse should give you the strength to pull through in tough times. think about it.. and if you can't get it, get back da.. all the best.. :D
lols...thanq anna...i think i totally forgot that ur just 3yeas senior to me....
I think you succeed in life when you follow your mind, when you come to know that nobody could manipulate you into doing something you do not like. Isn't being-able-to-stand-up-for-our-belief the biggest success? The society is..well..the society. You get fired from jobs, you are given low internal marks, you are not given BE certificates- all these things hardly matter when you come to think of YOU as the WORLD. When you start believing you studied to learn and not to impress the world or a panel of interviewers or your boss at work, you ll have no reason to feel bad at a bad social reaction. By firing you for honesty, the boss has actually delivered you from the pain of the system. It's a boon.Being able to think of things this way, being able to find happiness in what others call misery- that is real success.
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