a successful life

what does it mean to live a successful life, anyway?

“The busier we are, the more important we seem to ourselves and, we imagine, to others. 

To be unavailable to our friends and family, 

to be unable to find time for the sunset (or even to know the sun has set at all), 

to whiz through our obligations without time for a mindful breath, 

this has become the model of a successful life.” 

- Wayne Muller

 

that doesn't sound successful to me. not when you stop and think about it.

 

but some of us take ourselves too seriously at times. (or some people make a lifetime of it.)

 

as if the sun wouldn't rise without us. 

 

as if the earth would slip off its axis without us. 

as if we're just a little too important to actually slow down enough and notice that sunrise.

why?

because of that deadline? because we gotta climb that ladder to the next opportunity? to be successful?

and in the meantime we miss the very things we were created for & the things created for us.

 

relationships. love. breathtaking beauty. enjoyment. peace. satisfaction. simply being present in the beauty of the "ordinary" (yet sacred) moments.

those sound more like a successful life.

but you don't get those things by being too busy.