Ambition is the root of conflict, as it creates space between what we are and what we think we need to be. As we train our children to accomplish, to reach the top of the class, we steal from them the innocence of each moment. We set their happiness out in front of them at a distance they can never reach, as there is no end to the ambitions of the ego, it is a bottomless pit that cannot be filled. This chase we set them on has no finish line and satisfaction in life will forever remain illusive. The donkey will never reach the carrot. Happiness can not be found when seeking it, the ego will only lead us to misery, emptiness and a sense of failure.
To find the magic of each moment is the lesson we should be teaching. As we age we come to think we “understand” life from a place of knowledge, but this is only the death of true intelligence, which is based in curiosity and wonder. To keep mystery alive in this age of information becomes our fight. To wake and see a sunrise like it is the first time, to taste fruit from a tree full of gratitude, to live with a mind-blowing appreciation of life, and to accept that we know nothing is the only path to freedom.
What defines our lives is not our accomplishments, but our ability to find the extraordinary in each ordinary moment.