SUCCESS
"Anyone can sympathize with the sufferings of a friend, but it requires a very fine nature to sympathize with a friend's success."
-- Oscar Wilde's words can be taken in many fashions, but they make me think about what it really means to be successful. We read every day about how successful people's lives are falling apart. Drugs. Divorce. Beatings. Infidelity. You name it. "Success" in the eyes of others is not necessarily success.
But if someone we know becomes very "successful" - their business takes off, they win a lottery, etc. - we assume he has made it, he is happy, he doesn't need help, etc. We assume that "success" is a good thing, even if it usually means more stress and whatever comes from that. Certainly nobody would think to sympathize with someone for her success. But maybe we should think about it a little more carefully the next time we see a friend becoming more "successful".