Success From Anywhere

“Find the place inside yourself where nothing is impossible.”

—Deepak Chopra

“Helping others is the way we help ourselves.”

—Oprah Winfrey

I felt trapped.

The room wasn't dark but it needed to be brighter. The light switch was on the other side of the room but I couldn't reach it. Too many people. Too many pieces of furniture. On the ceiling: no light fixture. What kind of cruel trickery was this: a light switch but no lights? I needed to get out of here.

If only I could turn on the light, I thought to myself. Just turn on the light, somebody, please. My breathing was shallow. Quick. Unproductive. What was that technique for regaining my breath? I knew I knew it but I didn't know how to get to it. Just like that light switch. Just like that door.

The door was on the other side of the room. Maybe it was 10 feet away, but it felt like it was in another country. Between me and the door: 11 strangers. 10 chairs. Four tables. And a tour guide. A closed locked door was behind me.

Brown, gold, and copper-colored rocks of various shapes jutted out from the thick concrete walls, as if the outside was trying to come in. We 12 disciples navigated around a concoction of four rectangular tables, polished wood glistening even in the low light. The rectangles met at four points to form a square. At the center of the square, a lonely potted tree, barely three feet in height, winked at all ...