Sunday, April 8, 2018

What is success?

I found a picture of Patrick Stewart this morning on the front of a magazine from 2017 when he did an interview with "The Rake" about his life as an actor. 

Patrick Stewart is a success! He has acted in numerous movies, onstage in the theatre, and doing any and everything under the sun! Did I mention he is also a Sir? He is. 

I say this because in looking for a new job in another state I ponder on myself and whether I am successful. I don't really feel very successful when I look in my wallet to find $14 left to my name at the moment and decide those beans in the cabinet looks very filling. Not tasty, but filling will do for now. 

What exactly is success? Is it leaving a bad job because it was so very stressful that it placed me on medications for blood pressure and sugar? Is it leaving an abuser who has since stalked me for years? Is it graduating from college to have a MS degree and a student loan?

Some people would probably say success is making lots of money. Well, I know many people who are way better off than I am financially, but they are miserable! They are like Scrooge and wouldn't do anything for happiness if it hit them in the head! I don't think it's defined as money. Money does help one to be happier sometimes, yes, but it is not everything.

Is success defined by those people around you? Does your family approve of whatever it is that just makes your heart sing? If you were doing well off and people wanted to know your secret would they look at you differently if you told them you wrote smut for a living because sex sells? I remember a college professor in the sociology department talking about meeting people at the liquor store. He said no one wanted to say hi there; however, on Sunday, they all wanted to shake hands at church. Success, right?

Is success making yourself so central in people's lives that they can't live without you? You know what I mean. There is always that one friend or family member who just has to say their point in the hope that you will come around to their way of thinking...because they are so darn successful in their own pitiful lives. They want to share everything with you, and you should feel honored, including their failed attempts to even be remotely happy!

 Also, does success have to be viewed as a success by more than just yourself? A poor man under the bridge might see his new box as a success from where he came from with no box. A teacher might view success as watching a light bulb go off whenever a student gets nouns and verbs. I might feel successful because I did all my laundry! A preacher might feel successful because he had 2 more people in his congregation today. A grandparent might feel successful because they can look at their grandkids and see them smiling. A child might make a C on a math test and that's a success compared to the F he made last week. A teenager's truck might crank. A chef might get a new job at a fancy restaurant. A baby might say her first words. The sun might shine! 

 If this blog post hits home with some people, I'm sorry. It is filled of things I was just pondering today about success. We ALL have success in our lives, even when it's hiding under a shell.

Peace and Love,
Tela

2 comments: