It took me a while- actually- most of my life to realize I had been living my life with an imposed definition of success.
My parents are humble Irish folk who actually instilled in me -a sense of appreciation for the simple – grounded aspects of life. Growing up in the States I guess I learned a different more high powered definition of success, one that I associated with the “American Dream”.
For many -success is defined by owning an amazing car, a number of houses, having the world at your fingertips and by having a full bank account. In my life, at various times, I have been blessed to experience all of these things and over the course of my life many of these things have come and gone- some more than once. Having had such diverse experiences with material success has given me the opportunity to assess and look closely at what I truly value- what is most important to me. I have come to believe that family friends, precious time in nature, connection to spirit and creating the precious time to listen from within- are core values for me.
I have come to learn that life has phases and stages – often unrelated to our chronological age. These phases and stages provide us with a chance to connect with our higher wisdom and knowledge. It is so important to take the time to look closely at our lives and to be aware of what guides and drives us. It is important to check in and to determine if we are driven by images and ideas of the past and if we are defining success from external sources and not from our core values.
Oh! WOW! I am very happy to know that you are now owned an empowered and successful life.I want to define success for my life. I have an NGO to help the distressed and poor people by awakening them for their success, self care and development i.e development of Women folk. But my financial condition is not so good. Will you please favor me in this regard.Then you will be a partner of my good mission.
What a wonderful post. I think too often others get hung up on material success and then miss out on the “simple” things. I know for me, I’ve made choices so that I can live a “simpler” life by selling the amazing car to have a writing cottage built… to shopping 2nd hand stores so I can enjoy more of what I love to do… spend time in nature, spend time with my pets, spend time with family and friends. Some may think I am going without “things” but they are just that, “things.” What I get from my other simpler things brings me more rewards than I could ever express adequately in words. Though the word JOY comes to mind and I often wonder how many have true joy in their lives.