Greed

Those among us whose only goal is the acquisition of power and wealth rarely see beyond their greed to what it is they truly need. When people are in greed mode, they become so enmeshed in craving what they want, and so absorbed by the fear that they might not get it, that they become totally oblivious to the silent voice of their deepest longing. Their attachment to their greed makes their alienation difficult to resolve.

Whenever greed and desire are the paramount values in the psyche, the soul is undervalued, its importance denied, and its power misunderstood. The person in greed mode lives on the surface of his being. The hidden resources of his deeper nature lie untapped, unable to feed his surface strength. He is split off from his true self and his deeper life purpose. While he may not know it, he is working against his true self and his future. His collapse is inevitable. That is the legacy of greed.

One day, the comfort of external success derived from greed will give way to the dejection of internal defeat, and like the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus before him, he will be haunted by the long shadow enveloping his life, knowing that he has failed at his most important task. For those in greed mode, the more success their endeavors bring them, the more their greed seems to consume them. That greed will take them on an unexpected journey as they travel farther into emptiness and further from themselves. Success is not always the antidote to greed. In fact, it often adds fuel to its fire.