Living For Life not Wealth. By: Kyle Davidson

As I pursued my purpose or my job in life, I discovered the answer to what my job was besides generating excess financial wealth. In life, people say that the sole purpose of a job is to create wealth and comfort but do they understand what wealth is? The great anarchist activist Emma Goldman in her book Anarchism And Other Essays, Goldman defines wealth as "Things of utility and beauty, in things that help to create strong, beautiful bodies and surroundings inspiring to live in. But if a man is doomed to wind cotton around a spool, or dig coal, or build roads for thirty years of his life, there can be no talk of wealth." (61) By creating a state of mind that is free of the constraints of society, we can indeed be ourselves. Much like Goldman author Kabat-Zinn states, "We are at risk of never realizing our uniqueness-at least as long as we remain in the shadow cast by our thought habits and conditioning."

   Helping people get stable, get off the streets, or get off hard drugs is my job. And it satisfies my need to help others. In pursuing this truth, there have been many conflicts. Through my failures, I've learned it is impossible to manage a complicated system without making mistakes. The hours at this job are miserable, often with no thanks and scorn from the authorities and society. My desire to answer the universe's call is complicated; often, people have mental health issues, addictions, bias, prejudice, and greed in their hearts; of course, this is only complicated further by the fact that I am a person and as a person, I am prone to these struggles as well. These struggles lead to the question of whether or not I am fulfilling my purpose in life and satisfying my most crucial desire. 

   I've found in my life that complicated issues are confronted with a simple solution; start begin the grand struggle and keep following what the universe asks of me. What the universe asks of me is to do good and help others, and do that in a way that I am gifted at and improve upon the things that are a challenge. For myself, the wealth is found in knowing I am doing good. I must also contend that the good that is done will continue to do more good and bring a smile to the face of the universe and laughter upon God's lips when mistakes occur.

    Life has had too many complications and struggles to list here, but one constant theme is that by constantly questioning myself and authority, I have been able to create something great and do good things. The famous architect and scientist Buckminster Fuller once said, "If I can understand it, anybody can understand it." Fuller's belief in the equality of intelligence and the simplicity of the recipe for success cannot be understated.

   To meet my need to help others, I and anyone else who is already helping only need to do one thing. Suppose I can find a way that feeds my soul and does what the universe needs of me, and so can anyone who has the freedom to do so. Like Kabat-Zinn's and Goldman's musings, I need to answer the needs of the universe and my inner calling to live a good and fulfilling life. The People must retain their dignity by pursuing their own truth, even if that means living a life of poverty. The first step to success is always starting, beginning, and continuing to pursue that which you desire. Smash the windows!