Wait for It

I'm gradually coming to the conviction that there are three types of people in the world: the empire-builders, the servants, and everyone else who hasn't figured out what they are yet.

The empire-builders are the number one source of problems in the world. They have tin ears, or tone deafness. Or they are making too much noise of their own to hear what's going on around them. They are internally driven, you can grant them that much. They set their eyes on something and they "go for it." But the empires they build are their own, destined for dust, and the most successful ones leave a wasteland of corpses and rivers of blood in their wake.

The primary challenge for the servants is refusing service to the wrong empire. They usually end up making a living working for one of the empire-builders, since the latter are the movers and shakers. But they can't ultimately give their hearts to that service, because there's only one empire worth giving one's heart to. There's a discipline in learning to wait; not allowing oneself to get enlisted in the wrong cause. That is why saints often become martyrs. Why they must often draw a line in the sand and say, "Here I stand, I can do no other." And, "It is better to serve God than men."

But even in the right cause, the central discipline to hone is still waiting. That's why in all the great hero myths, the protagonist must learn a kind of passivity. Yoda and Obi Wan counsel Luke not to tap into his aggression; that will only lead to the dark side. They advise instead patience, waiting, careful training, preparation. And of course, sufficient stillness so that he can discern the movements of the force. Superman can only use his super powers in certain ways; the great temptation is to use his powers in ways that serve his own ends rather than some higher purpose. Batman cannot kill the bad guys no matter how bad they are; even if it means that they inevitably escape from Gotham Prison or Arkham Asylum only to wreak more havoc and death! He can only keep rounding them up -- and trying to convert them through example. That's the way heroes operate. Because heroes are always in the service of a "higher" cause, a cause not their own.

We can't force things, even when it seems like the direction we are forcing is a good one. The best thing we can do is listen, hold back. There will come a time to act, and when it does, we will know it and we will act decisively. Until then, there is only one thing to do.

Wait for it.