By Russ Gerber
About 35 years ago, I was self-employed and earning a modest living, but it was a rather dark time in my life. I didn’t feel I was advancing. Money wasn’t the driving issue; it was that I felt stuck. I sensed there was another level to achieve in my life that would be more fulfilling, but I also felt it wouldn’t come from the outside. I wasn’t wanting to change careers or get lots of new clients, yet I knew I needed to grow. The question was, in what way?
One day, I remembered an article I once read that described three stages of growth: self-knowledge, humility and love. In describing the absence of self-knowledge, the author of the article (from a collection of writings by Mary Baker Eddy) said something that struck a chord with me: “Mental darkness is senseless error, neither intelligence nor power, and its victim is responsible for its supposititious presence.”
I was responsible? That was a wake-up call. All along, I’d been yearning to understand what “out there” was missing. What more did I need to get or see or do?
The next weekend, at a business conference, I got an answer. The man chairing the conference and conducting the main meeting was a highly successful businessman who had agreed to voluntarily provide what guidance and assistance he could to the attendees. He simply wanted to be of service.
His personal greeting as we entered the hall and the sincere and instructive conversations he had with each of us individually throughout the day were unlike most business transactions I’d encountered. He was extraordinarily humble, unselfish and tireless. He stood to gain nothing from the conference except the pure satisfaction of helping others, and plenty of that was going on. He loved what he was doing and it showed.
On the three-hour drive home, I kept trying to nail down what he knew or had expressed that was so inspiring and that far exceeded a professional manner. Whatever quality he naturally displayed that day, I wanted to understand and develop for myself.
A few moments later, a word came to mind and not one that I’d conjured up. The word “grace” popped into my mind. I wasn’t sure why. What I was certain of was that at that exact moment, the mental darkness vanished.
I then realized that grace summed up what I’d been missing. It includes humility, patience, and unselfishness, and I felt an inner conviction that it was just what I needed to develop to advance in my life. This self-knowledge insight opened a door for limitless growth.
Turn the clock forward 35 years, and my growth continues. I wish I could say I exude grace at every moment of every day, but frankly, I’m not there yet. Still, my career has flourished, as has my family life and my volunteer work in Laguna Beach.
Opportunities to help others and to feel blessed by fulfilling those opportunities are everywhere. And I owe thanks to that humble businessman, and so many others from ancient times to today, for the good examples they’ve given us to see our innate capacities for growth.
They’re a good reminder of everyone’s ability to be better men and women and thus to contribute something of inestimable value to society every day and everywhere.
Russ and his wife moved back home to Southern California after working in Boston as the media manager for the Christian Science church. With a background in publishing, most of his time is spent writing, reading, volunteering and grandparenting.
