Reflection

“The planet does not need more successful people. But it does desperately need more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of every kind. It needs people who live well in their places. It needs people of moral courage willing to join the fight to make the world habitable and humane. And these qualities have little to do with success as our culture defines it.” –David W. Orr

Prayer

Gracious God,

Our culture often invites us to adopt a narrow vision of success, driven by self-preservation, self-realization, and self-promotion. Yet these are the buzz words of a lonely existence, with no room for others, over-inflated with self-concern. Help us retain our perspective on the things that matter, that we may be people who share those same things with a world in need: peace and healing, restoration and belonging, love and cooperation. May we find our true selves in service to others, as one human family. Amen.

Call to Action

Consider the way I define “success.” As needed, adjust my expectations for work and relationships to include others and the goal of making the world a more habitable, humane place.