Skip to main content

The meaning of success and how


I sat down to write today about being cast/boot free. It is a joy to be back to my 'normal' state of mobility - which is to say that I stumble and totter like a drunken sailor but at least now I'm not wearing a big black boot. Ahoy matey!

But instead, I came across the above quote and being easily distracted, I began to think about it instead. (Heck, I'm tired of the damn cast and don't want to waste anymore time thinking or writing about it anyway.) It's a quote my Aunt Bonnie first introduced me too when I graduated from high school and it's come on my radar many times since then, but today for some reason it has given me pause.

I laugh often, to be sure. I'm like the uncle in Mary Poppins - I love to laugh. I surround myself with people that make me smile and laugh and am grateful for a husband that still knows how to make me laugh.

I'm not to sure about winning the respect of intelligent people, though. I tend to think out of the box and out loud and that isn't always the way to earn respect. But I know for sure that I've earned the affection of children (aside from the three not so little Piggins) and my affection for children runs deep. I love to talk to children - really talk AND listen to them - from toddlers to teens. Ironically, as a teen though I wasn't overly fond of children and was the second-string babysitter to sister Kelli who is still a kid-magnet to this day.

I am confident that I've left the world a better place - having three children that each seem to striving to make the world a better place. I am grateful that I had the time and luxury to be the overly-involved mom and pour into them all that I had to give. I am proud of the legacy of Michael, Matthew and Delaney. And I am also confident that I have made my life-partner, John's life, a little easier during some tough patches. (though I made his life more challenging on many occasions, to be sure!)

So by Mr. Emerson's barometer, my life has been a success so far. I have been spending a lot of time in recent years studying the Bible and when I ruminate of what success looks like for a Christian, it is to not focus on what worldly matters (like material goods or attaining physical perfection). It is closely aligned to what Emerson writes:

* God wants us to live in peace knowing He is in control and through that peace we can find joy and laughter;
* Earning respect of intelligent people - God wants for us to live our lives righteously and in doing so, we will find respect.
* Affection of children - God wants us to protect and teach and love our children. If we do these things children will have affection and love in return.
* Leaving the world a better place - if we live according to God's will for us, we will be leaving a better world.
* One life a little easier - isn't that what living according to God's will is all about?

I hope this is post has made at least one person find peace and security in knowing that they've achieved success! Because, I believe that is why I was so easily distracted and lead to write this post. Have a wonderful day!

Comments

It's not a popularity contest, but ...

Tough time to be a Pollyanna

Remember when 9/11 was just a date or a number you called in an emergency? Our lives changed dramatically post 9/11. For weeks after that September day, we seemed to walk around in a fog, like the haze that loomed over the now-fallen twin towers. I remember trying to minimize my obsession with the news, trying to keep the three little Piggins away from the enormity of the disaster. Remember when corona was simply a beer best served with a lime wedge? It now and forever will be instead associated with this virus that has upended our world in ways we could never have imagined. This tiny little, microscopic virus has brought the mighty to their knees. It has us quarantined and distancing socially (though I believe we've been doing this emotionally for years) and working from home. As anxiety peaks, our economy tanks. As toilet paper and hand sanitizer flies off the shelves, we are looking for new ways to stock our pantries. A good friend observed, "I never thought I'd...

Treatment begins

Today is the first day of the rest of my life. Today is the day I begin, at last, treatment. Today is the day I begin to kick cancer's ass. Today is the day I start infusing ugly, nasty, side-affect laden, toxic chemicals for the greater good. Today is a day that I wish I could rewrite the script for completely deleting the part requiring me to need breast cancer chemo. And yet, here it is and at 1:15 EST I will be at the Cancer & Hematology Center in Holland. It's where I will be a lot for the next five months. It's where I will, I'm sure (and surety is something I have less of these days as I know not how I will respond to chemo), create new friendships and forge bonds with people that I am currently unfamiliar. Because that's who I am; a lover of people and a woman that wants to know and love on all the people she comes to meet.  I don't know why I have breast cancer but someday I will ask God (along with a whole bunch of other questions!). I do b...

Christmas cards

I sat down to reluctantly address Christmas cards. While our list has slowly dwindled through the years it's still a sizeable number, especially when it's viewed as a task approached reluctantly . Know what I mean? Some Christmas 'tasks' are a lot less taskier - like decorating or shopping or eating or opening presents. I mean, there's a whole different level of enthusiasm associated with 'tasks' that aren't viewed as tasks - I can't ever remember a time when I sat down to reluctantly open a present or eat a Christmas cookie! Anyway, I approached the Christmas card addressing with a less-than-positive, more bah-humbugish attitude. I poured a cup of coffee, grabbed the markers (I had to have a green, a red and a black one), the list and of course the envelopes (which John had already stuffed with the card). I turned on some Christmas music, but not too loud or it would distract me (and it really doesn't take much to distract me. Squirrel!),...