The root of all evil

In the West, we reward ambition. From a Sufi perspective, it’s a disease. Rumi: “All of our suffering results from raw greed and from the desires of the self and its itching palate.”

A divine absence

Because it is a background virtue, humility (derived from the Latin for ‘low’) is best described in terms of what it isn’t. It isn’t ambitious, holds no opinions, declines to judge, has no enemies, does nothing unnecessarily, is unconcerned with image, doesn’t need notes.

Death at the doorstep

Who will be the first to drive a stake through the dark heart of ambition? Young man! Ambition leads to competition. Competition leads to conflict. Conflict leads to death all over the place. See how swiftly ambition conjures conclusions. And how the mind shuts with a clanging sound and the ability to learn dies at the doorstep.

What he wants

The ambitions of a man who knows exactly what he wants are perforce low and limited.

Up. Down

New York, New York lyrics: “I’m number one / Top of the list / Head of the heap / King of the hill”

When we stand at the summit of personal achievement, there is only one way to go: Down.