MasterKey System: Part 1: Point 1

Haanel wrote:

That much gathers more is true on every plane of existence and that loss leads to greater loss is equally true.

You would be doing a disservice both to Haanel and yourself if you interpreted this point as simply saying “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer” as I confess I did when I first read it. While such a statement is blatantly obvious and painfully true (at least for those of us in the second category) it does not by any stretch of the imagination do justice to the breadth and depth of Haanel’s opening statement.

In the context of this part of Haanel’s work where he talks of attitude and the world within, you would do well to broaden your perspective of what he is referring to here. Perhaps a better interpretation is “like attracts like” but even that leads us along a path that we will come back and explore at a later time.

Perhaps we would do well to go back not just one hundred years, but more like two thousand years and hear the words of Jesus who is recorded as saying ” For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.” (Matthew13:12) Of the four instances where these words are recorded, (this reference; Mark 4:24-25; Luke 8:18 and Luke 19:26) only the Luke 19 reference is set in the context where these words refer directly to money. On the other three occasions they are used in the context of understanding.

Given the context of the rest of this part of the MasterKey System, I would suggest then, that Haanel speaks here of understanding. Understanding in the sense of the full extent of that which can be known. But, as is often the case, there are some who choose not to acquire the understanding they need to live their life to the full. And that is arguably the most pathetic situation of all; to get to the end of your life and have not wrung out every possible drop of living that was available, or even worse, only to have existed.

Yet there are so many people who appear to have made the choice to remain ignorant of those very things that would make life so much more worthwhile, so much more enjoyable, so much more worthy of having won the one race that really matters.

Why is that so often the case? Is it from lack of opportunity? That could be argued for a primitive tribe (in the sense of still living the way they have for hundreds, even thousands of years) living in a remote location untouched by the modern world. But I want to suggest that you personally know many, many people who are not living their lives as fully as they have the potential to do. That, in itself, is sad enough. What is even sadder is that these same people, while obviously not content with their lives show no signs of being prepared to do anything about it. And it is these people who, as hard as it might be to accept, will be the ones who will suffer the greater loss.

I say ‘hard to accept’ because often it is significant others in your life who fall into that category. And that adds a whole new dimension to the picture. You see understanding brings with it a whole range of challenges those who lack understanding never have to face. And the reality that by gaining in understanding you are growing while your loved ones appear to be going in the opposite direction is just one of those challenges.

Does that then mean that you would be better off choosing to remain ignorant? Only you can make that choice. I will not tell you what you should or should not do. My only comment comes from my own personal experience. I have found that by gaining in understanding I have become more accepting and more empathetic towards the situations of those people who are important in my life. That in turn has its own rewards which in my opinion more than compensates for the perception of an ever increasing gap between where they are and where I am. I have also found it helpful to share with others who are on their own journey of discovery and increased understanding. That way, I find I can experience more completely the “deeper, fuller, clearer meaning” of life that Haanel refers to in his preface to this part of his work.