Ambition
And the Three of Cups
I recently, fittingly while sitting in my easy chair, stumbled upon1 the following quote from Charles Bukowski:
“It was true that I didn’t have much ambition, but there ought to be a place for people without ambition, I mean a better place than the one usually reserved. How in the hell could a man enjoy being awakened at 6:30 a.m. by an alarm clock, leap out of bed, dress, force-feed, shit, piss, brush teeth and hair, and fight traffic to get to a place where essentially you made lots of money for somebody else and were asked to be grateful for the opportunity to do so?”
To contemplate the quote with Tarot, I shuffled my deck and drew the Three of Cups.
In essence, Mr. Bukowski is writing about a happy life. Leading a happy life.
Specifically, what it took for him to lead a happy, and indeed meaningful life.
That’s the true key, isn’t it? What constitutes a happy and meaningful life is different for each and every one of us.
Some people are happy heading off to their job. My youngest Brother is an engineer, he has always been happiest when working. Heck, he makes up work to do at home when he’s not actually at work. He’s directly opposite Mr. Bukowski in this.
This difference points to a fundamental truth.
We are all here, on this earth, in this existence, for a reason. There is a purpose for our lives. Rightly understood it is our mission, our duty, to look deeply within ourselves to discover what that purpose might be.
Once found, it becomes our duty to carry out this purpose. To live it. In this way we find meaning, and happiness. No matter how our life might appear to be to those outside of it.
Ultimately, if we were all to live our true purpose, true conflict would cease, for we are all designed to be a part of a divine plan.
The quote was published on Substack by Philosophors.
Ambition is a funny thing. It can lead us to victory, or to ruin.
I’ve had discussions with a good friend of mine that ambition is normally a good and healthy thing. Sadly, when we see it within Freemasonry it seems to come from a different place that often pairs it with self-aggrandizement and a desire to exercise some type of dominion over others.