Monday, March 22, 2010

Meditation: 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 false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a 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

Kind of puts things into perspective, no?  Dear old Ralph - this is one of my all-time favorite quotes.  It reminds me focus on the truly important things in life and leave behind some of my misguided ideas of perfection and success (clean house?  really?).  Right now I especially like the bit about "leaving the world a bit better" with a child or a garden patch.  Those are my successes right now.

What about you?  What are your successes?

2 comments:

MaurLo said...

Lovely thought. My sucesses today are drawers full of clean laundry, one child who can now do puzzles, another who can recite the Easter story...and a lot of time spent sitting at the window watching the rain together. All important right?

Ye Stewart Clan said...

So sweet! My successes today are giving some friends a well deserved break by watching their kids! And I got a shower in this morning too!