Success
In my daily readings today I found this -
Success
"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of flase friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
And to that, I say this. I'd like to think that I stand before you as a symbol of success. That I have thus far laughed often and much; that I have not won, rather earned the respect of intelligent people while becoming one myself; that I have won the affection of children in some way, perhaps touched the lives of my two dearest cousins; whether or not I have earned the appreciation of the honest critics that surround me is not knowledge that I can bestow, although I know that I have endured the betrayal of false friends, I can walk away from anyone I ever knew - just ask one of them; beauty being a staple of my life is surely appreciated by me; and I try my hardest to find the best in others, even when there is very little to find; have I left the world a bit better? - I hope so. The soil surrounding the rosemary, thyme, orraegano and lavender in my herb garden is as fertile as ever, yet I have little to no bearing nor influence on social conditions; and above all, I truly hope that someone out there has breathed, to some degree, easier because of me and the life that I have lived.
With all this now out into the open, have I suceeded? Or am I just on the seemingly endless road to success? Such a quandry of this nature is hardly fit for, nor properly contained by, a lone blog. Yet, let me offer this - Perhaps success is best measured by those around you, than it is by your own vaule and judgement that you have placed upon yourself. For these self-imposed values are the products of your perception of how things are, and not of how they actually are.
So am I successful? Have I succeeded? Perhaps you are in the better position to decide.