Worldly success can be a dangerous thing.

Worldly success (called expansion in sufic terms) can be a dangerous thing. 
Though we all love success, praise and affirmation, many of us have seen how damaging it can be.  A successful individual usually becomes arrogant, overestimating their own capabilities, and is surrounded by people who want to get something from him or her to benefit themselves.  In order to get what they want, these people lavish praise and gifts on the person and rarely question him or her.  Why?  Because they are not interested in the merit of the person’s words or actions, they are interested in the benefit they can secure for their own selves. 

Surely we have all met successful persons whom everyone agrees with, praises and never questions **even when what they say or do makes no sense or is clearly wrong.**  

Sometimes we have also witnessed these very same individuals “succeed” all the way down to their own destruction because they were surrounded by sycophants and refused to pay heed to the rare voice that disagreed with or questioned them.

It is easier to see the damaging effects of success in others, but much harder to see it in our own lives. We get intoxicated and lulled by success and affirmation.   That is why failure and criticism are so useful because they wake us up, make us uncomfortable and cause pain.  They can make us look inwards and question our own selves.

A person interested in their emotional and spiritual growth can surrender and benefit from failure (contraction) by opening up to the message and lesson in it; by working on their own selves.


photo credit: http://novellcounseling.org/