A New View of Failure

Imagine a society which always cheers us on, not because it hopes we will continue against the odds and maybe succeed in the face of potential failure, but because it believes that the only thing there could ever be is more life, that we’ve already arrived, life is perfect and it is metaphysically impossible to not exist.

According to this society, “failure” is an imagined distinction created by the belief in winning and losing, and by seeing life as a game or competition, rather than a never-ending expression of our being. It teaches that we do not lack what we need to have a wonderful life and so do not have to fight to gain what will get us that life. 

This cultural story that excludes lack, competition or failure would be one that cheers us on not from fingers-crossed hope in success, but as a celebration of our movement through every turning point, knowing we will only find more and more expressions of that perfect life we already are, and be guided by our new learnings, helping to inspire our next choice.

Imagine how encouraged we would be as we moved through life, how excitedly we would approach situations if fed with these cultural stories from a young age. Imagine how graciously we would accept what we encounter at each turn, knowing there is no possibility of truly losing in the play of life. The lack of belief in need would render frustration a silly notion and the idea of quitting would be replaced by consciously turning our focus toward a new path and new opportunities.

This society would teach that “death” is this exact same shift in our focus toward a new path, chosen by us deliberately at a higher level of our being to occur at the perfect time, and in the perfect fashion to suit our highest agenda. According to the cultural mythology, when our eternal being makes a full shift in its focus away from our current physical body and onto something new and most often beyond our present knowledge, the experience of leaving the body is created. This is considered an extremely exciting moment, where a tremendous level of freedom is exercised to create and experience the new reality of our next highest dream. Though the departed may be missed, the death of another is joyfully celebrated by this society whenever it happens to occur.