Success

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Fact:  David Hoadley of Falls Church, Virginia, has chased storms since 1956 and have devoted most of his adult life to cataloging them on film and video.  He covered 20,000 miles and waited eight years before he saw his first tornado.  Guiness World Records 2001.


This guy is the poster boy for perseverance.  He got me thinking about success.

For many of us, the old standard of success was measured by a good career, great salary, fancy car and the size of one's home.  Maybe our current economic crisis is a blessing in disguise.  It forces those of us who have been thrust into economic hardship to redefine success.

Standing on the shoulders of giants and inspired by the wisdom of many others who have walked before me, I've created a list of the elements of success.

Please,note: money, career, car and home are not mentioned anywhere.

Elements of Success

1.)  Look for opportunity everywhere, especially in adversity.

2.)  Focus on goals that are specific and measurable.  Work hard to reach them.

3.)  Always be kind, cooperative and enthusiastic especially when you don't feel like it.

4.)  Deal with the facts not what you imagine them to be.

5.)  Surround yourself with positive people.

6.)  Time is our most valuable asset.  Use it well but never forget that most things take
       time,  especially personal growth.  BE PATIENT.

7.)  Be prepared.  Practice. Learn something new every day.  Improve your skills.
      Work on your weaknesses.  Success is hard work.

8.) Never forget that success is built on top of countless failures.
     When you fail, get back up and try again, harder and smarter the next time.
     Keep going.

9.)  Remember that there is a Power beyond you that is much greater than yours.  Always align yourself with It.  

It's a new week and a new world.  Go out and tame it!

In the Belly of the Beast

This entry is a lot darker than some.  It may also be a lot harder to understand.  I'm not sure I really understand it completely.  It demanded to be written.  Things are not always upbeat and positive for me.  I have days when I struggle with my inner demons. This last week was a very difficult one for many of us in my family.  My husband and I got into a nasty argument.  I lost my temper with my son and screamed at him.  I was very ashamed of myself and wondered how I dare write about listening to my family members and children when I could act so badly.  I had to force myself to sit down with these unwelcome feelings and make peace with them.  This entry is the story of that struggle.

Some emotions are so raw that you can't swallow them.  Instead they swallow you.  Last night I sat in their belly.  It's a frightening place to be.  I want to walk confidently into each  tomorrow but some times I fall overboard.  I struggle against feelings that I hate.  The more I struggle the harder my life can be.

In my mind I have a standard, an ideal that I reach for.  Some days I do a good job.  There are other days when I am swallowed whole.  Darkness envelopes me with a savage swallow.  I try and count my enemy's bones. "1-2-3. . ." I lose count and begin again, "1-2-3-4" and forget.  "1-2-3-4-5."  My heart spins and falls, gracefully spiraling down the darkness.  Could there be a raw and savage beauty here?   I sense it but can not see it.

Exhausted, I don't want to fight any longer.  I collapse into a pool of acid and half-digested chunks of life.  My cries echo against the belly's walls.  They shout tales of loneliness, abandon. They spew curses at fate and fortune.  They shake their fists at God and demand to know why.  Only silence answers.  It points the blame at me with a stone-like silence.  I rise to bash my soul against it.  Finally, broken and defeated, pieces of me lie at my feet like shards of broken glass.  This can not be mended.  There are too many pieces.

I fall into a dreamless sleep and awaken in the dark.  I begin the work of cleaning up the broken pieces. There really is nothing else to be done.  I remember a quote long forgotten, "Broken again and again upon the sea, the moon mends so easily."

The words spill into the wound left by last night's pain.  It cleanses.  It purifies.  It forgives, if but just a little.

I am accused and accuser, judge and jury, angel and demon.  Today becomes an atonement for all the days before.  On the altar of life I am the sacrifice.  I raise all that I am and let go.  Broken pieces fall to earth.  The Light and the Darkness dance in worship.  I drink in all that is holy and damned and offer it back again.