True Success

As we enter into the Holiday season, it often feels as though we are suspended in between the past and the future.

Christmas is a time of waiting and anticipation, of laughter and joy, but it seems each year I rush through Thanksgiving and rush through Christmas and start looking ahead to new beginnings...

Even though each day is technically a new beginning.

This year hasn't been a the best. My end of the reflection probably won't be what I want it to be.

but that's ok, because I'm still alive. Y'all, sometimes putting one foot in front of the other deserves a prize.

Caleb and I were talking the other day about being a failure in life. It's easy to do. It's easy to see everyone else's "success" and think of all the ways we don't stack up.

Chances are, though, somebody is doing the same thing with us. There's that quote that talks about how somebody else would love to have what you are complaining about... and that's so true.

As I'm finishing up this semester, I'm reflecting on what true success is.

I love this quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson. "What is 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 the 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!”

So, as I'm finishing up these last few days of 2018, I'm vowing not to get too focused on 2019. I'm going to think of this quote, and try to live it...

Laugh everyday.

Play with the kiddos at church and try to win the respect of intelligent people.

Live so that I can't be criticized... or that the criticism is a growth opportunity.

Forgive those who have betrayed me through falsehood.

Appreciate the beauty of the season.

Always look for the best in others, and hope they are doing the same for me.

Leave the world a little better...

Live so that others breathe easier.

Because that is true success...