Success (Re)Defined

It’s going to be another busy day today—visits to two host hospitals, playing for patients, teaching, four hours coming and going.  Even so, I’m taking this moment to breathe in and out as I clear my head and jot down a few notes.

This is not my typical modus operandi. No, in days gone by, I would not have even fleetingly entertained the thought of doing anything on such a morning but getting to the finish line.  Only after I’d done this and this and this and this, would I have considered the morning, indeed, the whole day to have been a success.

These days though, I see a day as successful if I wake up in my own in my own bed.  My most mundane acts underscore the success of my day—taking a hot shower, brushing my teeth, enjoying a breakfast with my husband. Doubtless my take on what constitutes success is directly related to my visits with so many who are not as fortunate as I am this morning—those who open their eyes and find themselves to be in a hospital, a hospice, a nursing home.  In the few minutes I spend with them, they teach me volumes on how to live every moment of each day of the rest of my life.

“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” — Albert Schweitzer

“If I have been of service, if I have glimpsed more of the nature and essence of ultimate good, if I am inspired to reach wider horizons of thought and action, if I am at peace with myself, it has been a successful day.” — Alex Noble

“He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much; who has gained the respect of intelligent men and the love of little children; who has filled his niche and accomplished his task; who has left the world better than he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul; who has never lacked appreciation of earth’s beauty or failed to express it; who has always looked for the best in others and given them the best he had; whose life was an inspiration; whose memory a benediction.” — Bessie Stanley [published 11/30/1905 in the Lincoln (Kansas) Sentinel - an adaptation of this is often attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson, though nothing like it has been found in his writings.]

May you enjoy much success throughout the day today.

Enjoy your day!