The Story Of a successful Man

A boy was born to loving parents. They named him Michael. When he was five, his parents bought him a dog for Christmas and he loved this dog. He learned a sense of responsibility by taking care of his dog who he called Zak.


Michael’s father was stern, but loving. He guided Michael in becoming a serious and successful student. He did well in school and his teachers gave him outstanding evaluations. His parents were very proud of him.


Michael went to an Ivy League University where he met his wife to be, the lovely Emily. Together they went to graduate school. She to NYU Law and he to get his MBA in marketing at Columbia.


Both were able to get good jobs at pretigious firms in the City and they moved into a spacious, but small co-op on the Upper East Side.



When she was 30 Emily had a boy and they named him Michael, Jr. They didn’t want to raise the child in the city, so they bought a beautiful home in Westchester County just North of NY.


There they raised Michael, Jr. in a firm, but loving way. They wanted only the best for him, just as they had been raised.


But when Michael entered his 40s he could no longer ignore the sense of emptiness that seemed to be growing in the pit of his stomach. Despite all of his professional success and the happiness of his family, he felt a kind of melancholy aimlessness within himself.


He tried to talk himself out of it. He spent more time at the Golf Club to try to clear his head, but he just couldn’t shake this sickening feeling he had deep inside his body.


He shared his dilema with his wife and she loved him for it. But her support and care didn’t seem to make much difference. “What is going on in me”, he wondered.


Although it didn’t seem “manly” of him, he sought professional help with his problem and he began seeing a well respected therapist in the City. They spent many hours together discussing his fears and his growing sense that life was meaningless. The therapist allowed his to speak and speak, but no matter how much he talked about himself, the feelings either stayed the same or actually got worse.



A friend at work told Michael that maybe he should try meditating to simply relax his mind. Lately his work at the office was noticably slipping and his boss couldn’t help noticing how Michael seemed a little unfocused in meetings.


So Michael picked up a book about meditation at this local Barnes and Noble and started dutifully meditating every morning for 20 minutes. He attacked the practice with the same diligence and commitment with which he had attacked everything else in his life. He did his research and followed the directions to the letter. Each morning he sat in a half lotus position for exactly 20 minutes. He would feel refreshed afterwards, shower, and then get ready for work. The meditation seemed to be helping him.


Then, one day, as we he was sitting at his desk, it was late morning and the sun was pouring in his corner office windows, he was overcome by a feeling that seemed to come from nowhere. An immense sadness seemed to take him over and tears formed in his eyes. Hurridly, he closed his door and pulled down the blinds part way. He didn’t know what to do with this feeling. What was going on? What was happening to him? He left work early that day, which was very unlike him and took a walk in a park near his home.


He looked at the trees and the little stream and this odd thought went through his head, “Where have you been all my life.” Nothing was making sense to him. His life was in turmoil and he was now really suffering.


He made a special appointment with his therapist and, in the midst of their conversation, this man admitted that perhaps he could not help Michael with his problems through talk therapy. He suggested that Michael begin a regimen of anti-depressants. The doctor offered Michael the idea that his problem was not a mental one, but a physical one. “After all”, the doctor said, “look how successful your life has really been to this point.” Off handedly Michael quipped, “Maybe I should just have a couple of more drinks after work” and smiled half-heartedly.


A year or two later, Michael was idly surfing the web looking for articles that might help with his suffering. Emily had lost faith in him and they decided to do a trial separation. This was devastating to Michael’s parents, but actually quite sensible to Michael. He moved into a small apartment closer to the City.


But while he was absent mindedly gazing at his laptop, he stumbled upon the Liberation from the Lie Blog and noticed one of the posts about the Wound and the Fear Selves. He was intrigued. What he saw there was different from what he had seen elsehwere. The words resonated with his own experience. He decided to read the book of Liberation and see if it could help him with his suffering.


He read it and although a lot of it didn’t make much sense to him, much of it really spoke to him. But no matter what he read and how much he pondered his life, he just couldn’t shake the feeling of hopelessness that now infected his soul.