Growth is not the same as More

The marks on the pantry wall, just inside the door frame, each have a name and a date marked next to them.

The marks that are close together are 4 years apart - the difference in age between my brother and me.

Then his marks get much higher than mine.

This is what we learn growth means. More. More height. More knowledge. More ability. More degrees. More money.

But more is a trap.

At some point, growth is the ability to be more - not do more, not have more.

I can be more myself today, and there is no other growth - physical, monetary, admiration - that will make me more myself than that being. Whether that being is discovered by action, reflection, receiving and giving love, or any number of ways is the joy of the journey. It will probably change often.

But the mistake is to replace the journey of growth with the pursuit of more.