We are often attracted to adventure stories, wherein people face formidable odds and do spectacular things. We may even lament that our life is boring. While most of us may not be in professions that are directly adventurous, there is an adventure open for all of us: discovering how much good we can do.
We all have some capacity to do good: maybe speak some kind words to others, use whatever talents and resources we have to do something good, even if it is small. And if we pull ourselves together, we can surely do better than what we are doing right now. We all can easily think about habits that undermine or even sabotage us. While some of them may require huge willpower to improve, others can be improved with whatever willpower we have presently. And if we pull ourselves together, how much more good can we do? We ourselves don’t know. After all, do we know the limit of human potential? Do we know the limit of our own potential? Isn’t human history filled with inspiring sagas of people doing phenomenal things?
Gita wisdom affirms our immense potential by stating that we all are parts of the Divine and we all can play our part, thereby becoming instruments for forces far bigger than ourselves. In fact, the Bhagavad-gita (10.36) states that adventure is a manifestation of the Divine. And discovering how much more good we can do can be our life’s defining and driving adventure. Defining because it’s an adventure that can be a part of us at every moment, unlike the adventures of adventurers which are intermittent. And driving because it can inspire us to continuously persevere on the path of self-improvement.
One-sentence summary:
Discovering how much good can we do if we pull ourselves together can be our life’s greatest adventure.
Think it over:
- How can we increase our capacity to do good?
- What instances reminded you most forcefully about the immense human potential to do good?
- How can spiritual wisdom help us make our life adventurous?
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10.36: I am also the gambling of cheats, and of the splendid I am the splendor. I am victory, I am adventure, and I am the strength of the strong.
We all should do good. At least we can speak some kind words.