“Uncovering The Secret”

Editorial by Robert Kirwan

    An old legend tells of a tribe of people that was continually at war with other tribes. This aggressive tribe murdered and destroyed neighbouring tribes and villages. They had no morals, love or compassion and were extremely greedy and cruel in their pursuit of success.
  
   A dismayed wise man of a good tribe called a conference of reasonable people in tribes throughout the region. They met to see what they could do to save the people of this aggressive tribe from themselves. After much discussion, they decided to take the secret of personal success and happiness away from those who abused it and hide it from them. One wise man at the meeting asked, “Where can we put it so they won’t find it?”
  
   One person suggested it be buried deep in the earth; another suggested it be placed on the top of a high mountain. Some suggested it be thrown into the ocean. After all of the suggestions it was agreed that the secret of happiness and success could be too easily found if it was hidden in any of these obvious places.
  
   Finally, one wise old man who had kept quiet during the conference said, “Let’s hide the secret within the people of the aggressive tribe themselves. People like this will never think to look for happiness and success within themselves.”
  
   To this day, the violent tribe has continued to pursue success and happiness in many places, never guessing that they possess this true secret to success and happiness within themselves.
  
   This simple legend tells us a great deal about human nature. So often we spend our days running to and fro attempting to find success and happiness by spending countless hours in an attempt to increase our salary level; being ruthless in our business deals; trying to gain the upper hand on business associates; attempting to beat the stock market; and making sure we have the newest and most expensive collection of toys and gadgets over which to gloat when talking to our neighbours and acquaintances.
  
   Yet, just as it was with the violent tribe, no matter how much we have, or how powerful we become, we just don’t seem to be truly happy. We want more happiness and more success and are committed to investing more time and energy in finding this happiness and success.
  
  All of this simply points out how smart the wise old man in the legend really was. He knew that most people think the secret of happiness and success must be searched for and can only be acquired by taking it from someone else. Little do we know that the real secret of happiness and success is actually buried deep within our own self and does not depend on what we have, but on who we are as individuals.
  
   As we move through our life's journey there will be many opportunities for personal reflection. It is a time when most of us take a good long look in the mirror and review our situation in life. We will talk at length with family and friends about initiatives we intend to undertake in the future to improve ourselves. Most of our plans will be designed to make us happier and more successful in our personal and business ventures.
  
   Whenever you are immersed in one of those moments of true peace, stop immediately and ask yourself what it is that is making you feel so good at the time. Ask yourself why, at that particular moment, you feel so good and so satisfied. What makes that particular moment in time so different from the others? You will discover that those moments of extreme happiness and joy are times when you have truly discovered yourself. Those are times when you are not being defined by ‘what you have’ but by ‘who you are’ and ‘what you mean to other loved ones in your life’.
  
   In our search for happiness, let’s not overlook the hiding place that is closest to our heart. For if you really want to find happiness and success, you must look inward, not outward.
  
   Have a good week!