"Success is that way, just a little past splat."

Monk to the seeker

(Porras, Emery, Thompson, 128)

      It is important to remember that no one is perfect, not even the incredibly successful people mentioned in Porras, Emery, and Thompson's Success Built to Last. Everyone makes mistakes along their paths to fulfillment, but if taken stride, they will learn vital life lessons which will only aid them in becoming even more extraordinary. I enjoyed reading the story about the bearded sage giving advice to a man, I have to remind myself on a regular basis that there are going to be speed bumps on the way to my ultimate goals, but I should not let them discourage me.

"Humor makes it a whole lot easier for you to accept who you are and what happens to you."

(Porras, Emery, Thompson, 128)

     If we are unable to laugh at ourselves on occasion, than in my opinion people are far too uptight. Life is way too short to take everything seriously all the time. Everyone suffers at one point or another, but it is essential to pick your battles, and be light-hearted as often as possible. As the authors point out, builders face adversity, phobias, and flaws which they may never completely relinquish (Porras, Emery, Thompson, 128), but they figure out strategies to keep them in check. Once a person is able to accomplish this, it is much easier for them to cope with their inevitable flaws without allowing them to overshadow their potential.

"The Supernatural resembles nature in that, though you drive it out with a pitchfork, it will always come creeping back."

(Enright, 204)

John Culbertson

(Mysupernaturalstories.com)

     The question of whether or not a supernatural realm exists has existed as long as death itself was present in human society. It is natural to wonder if those who have passed before us are still among the living in one form or another. It is nearly impossible to prove this one way or the other, it is typically a matter of personal opinion. As Boswell explains: "All argument is against it; but all belief is for it" (Enright, 205). While I do not believe that vampires or zombies are terrorizing the Earth, I would speculate that souls manifest themselves as apparitions to visit the living long after they have passed. In my lifetime, I have heard countless accounts from trustworthy friends telling their experiences with people they knew who had been long dead. I have yet to encounter a ghost in my lifetime, at least as far as I know, and I am content with that.

"The body dissolves, but the soul, if free from worldly stains, can forever associate with the gods."

(Kramer, 117)

Socrates Drinking Hemlock

(Socrates101.com)

     The Greeks have a positive outlook on death. Socrates, a philosopher in Ancient Greece, taught his pupils that the soul was immortal and lived on long after the body decayed, so there was nothing to fear about crossing over from the physical life to the next. Socrates did not agonize over his death sentence, in fact he fully embraced it. He saw no point in continuing to live if he was not permitted to discuss he virtue, instead he came to the realization that by allowing his body to die, and was choosing to live in the spiritual sense (Kramer, 114).

     Similar to the Chinese death ritual practice, in Greece close family hold vigil by the dying person's side. Greeks have a rather interesting tradition when it comes to dealing with the dead. It is believed that the soul is "released by the heart in a breath of air through one's mouth" (Kramer, 119). The spirit of the deceased is not completely free of their physical body, however, until only the bare bones remain. The most intriguing custom happens at least five years after the loved one has died. The family unearths the remains of the physical body from the grave site as a reminder that their soul has finally reached paradise.

A Concept of Greek Elysium

The Final Resting Place for Pure Souls

(Crystallinks.com)

Works Cited

Enright, D.J. The Oxford Book of Death. Oxford [Oxfordshire: Oxford UP, 1983. Print.

Kramer, Kenneth Paul. The Sacred Art of Dying.: How World Religions Understand Death. NewYork,  NY [u.a.: Paulist Pr., 1988. Print.

Porras, Jerry L. Stewart, Emery and Mark Thompson. Success Built to Last: Creating a LifeThat            Matters. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Wharton School Pub., 2007. Print.