Find yourself elected to a different kind of greed

Back in the day, Presidential candidates did not even show up at the party conventions. Anyone who showed ambition to become President was clearly not humble enough to become President. This was all show, of course, at least starting with Thomas Jefferson. He was all the time working behind the scenes with his people to get elected. John Adams hated him for this. According to John Adams, only John Adams was humble enough to be President. I get that, unfortunately. I’d love to say that I am without ambition, but it’s pretty clear to me by now that I am not. Fancy cars and fancy titles are still objects of desire, even if they are used or handed out by do-gooders. My ambition has gotten me into trouble by wrapping itself up in the trappings of humility. Call me Johnny if you will. I don’t think there is a cure. It doesn’t mean that my ambition can’t be put to some good use. One could argue that ambition is what drives us to find out our highest capacity. Kind of like trying to run a sub-three hour marathon for instance. Ambition is also helpful if it is channeled to some cause or some will greater than my own will. That may sound like anathema to an atheist or a Ayn Rand devotee, but my goal is less (and more) than a material achievement. I want to be at peace. Easier said than done.