The Measure of Success

Shark's Purse!

Nokia phones. The latest & hippest. Power packed notebooks. PDAs. Armani suits. Tickets to the philharmonic orchestra. Going to the philharmonic orchestra. Titles on your name cards. Titles to your name. Titles for your properties. Invitation to grand openings. Invitations to grace openings. Celebrity status. Celebrity circles. Magazine interviews. To London for lunch & back. A week at a French Polynesian island. Having your own island. Being a jet setter. Jet setting on your own jet. A dream life?

The world tells us to achieve this much, enjoy this much, obtain great things & reign over others to be significant. What this world has done is, give birth to a society of user or loser mentality where you get as much out of them before they can get anything out of you. Life on the fast track has become a life of chasing fortune that you would leave for your children to squander away. Your choice of friends would be among the high flying elites of the Tattler-kind. One who overflows with an accent, artificial or otherwise. The flashy recent new rich, driving flashy new cars with flashy rims & leather interiors. Suddenly it’s so hip to hang around the So & Sos. Members of private golf clubs. Residents of elite neighbourhood. Cigar-totting chaps who burn away a couple of thousand dollars of Chivas or Martell a night. A lifestyle that would require you to live beyond your means only to laden you with bills that you can’t upkeep. And leave you with superficial friends who think you might be useful to have around. For now.

I used to think that all that was the norm having grown up in a club that provided all the convenience of my healthy pursuits in sports & all of my so-called friends. Unfortunately, they only talk about where they’ve been shopping, what holidays they took with their parents’ money & the hairdresser’s appointment that would be the highlight of their week. It’s great to pamper yourself but when you close your mind to what’s happening in the world, what’s there left to appreciate? At the time, I was very concerned about the environment. I was also involved with speaking up for animal rights. I used to write in to the newspapers. The radio station, Blue Network, what Radio 4 was known by then, used to read out my letters before a song. I would talk about environmental issues. These seemed trivial to my shopaholic childhood friends whom I was happy to outgrow. I had to work & earn my way. To me, there was certainly more to life than wearing branded clothes & having high tea at Regent Hotel every Saturday. I needed to find my way in the world where I would achieve great things. Do the impossible. Break records. Perform feats. Anything. The need to prove myself in the world was so great that it overwhelmed me. I wanted to win prizes for my pursuits. I wanted recognition.

I was diving when I found a shark’s purse (egg casing of sharks that look like a lady’s purse). I was elated, not to mention, screaming for joy at the life that hatched judging by the empty, broken case. Then I thought about success. This must have been the most successful for the sharks, to survive against the odds of shark finning, coral reef decimation, predatory fear of other sharks… The definition falls by far of the human standard of success which is measured by wealth, fame & fortune. By class, creed & caste. Worst still, if you are in India, you are doomed to fail if you belong to the lower castes. How such a simple thing as finding a shark’s purse can bring so much excitement to me. I was going to tell everyone about this life that had been born! Rare enough that we see sharks in our waters but to discover life is really something. I had to rethink success. I have the privilege of learning a great deal about the ocean & about life. What would happen if I take that to the grave with me? It isn’t about going out with So & So or be seen with Who & Who for the sake of being a somebody, it’s about how you live life. My goodness, how on earth did I take so long to discover that? It’s about what you make of your life. It’s about how you share the marvels of life with others. It’s about how I should share my fantastic experiences & amazing discoveries with people who care to listen. It’s about sharing the gospel. God has enabled me with gifts that would benefit His people. And I’m going to share it. The shark will not do well if it remains in the purse. It has to break out & live. Only then will it find success for its species.

For I am already being poured out, and the time of my release is here. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. Now there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that Day; and not to me only, but also to all those who love His appearing. 2 Tim 4:6 - 8

Feed the flock of God among you, taking the oversight, not by compulsion, but willingly; nor for base gain, but readily; nor as lording it over those allotted to you by God, but becoming examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, you shall receive a never-fading crown of glory. 1 Peter 5:2 – 4

I think the crowns would be more than anything man could ever give me. In knowing what I’m running the race for, has redefined my measure of success.