Relative Success and the Power of Positive Energy

"Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome" -Booker T. Washington-

With grandiose displays of wealth and apocalyptic-like signs of poverty being embedded into our society's collective consciousness, the millions of us stuck in between the two are often left wondering which side do our lives bear a closer resemblance. If we are to believe what we see and are told the wild, young, flavor of the week millionaires who have helped bring terms like "paparazzi" to prominence in everyday American-English, and their snarlingly stiff billionaire "guardians" are the embodiment of the word success. In today's bustling world anything falling beneath that simply misses the mark.

Of course, if you're honest enough with yourself to think that through just a little bit you'll know that nothing could be farther from the truth. Because when you think about it, you'll think of all the other images of hard work and perseverance you've seen and/or experienced throughout your lifetime that pushed you to keep going when times were rough. You'll think of the immigrants, not of Ellis Island of yesteryear but those of today; the refugees of war-torn Cambodia, Sudan, Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. You see their scars, you feel their pain. Are neighbors from just below, who risk their lives on the lines of an invisible border to experience the luxuries of proper clothing, shelter and running water. You think of those who have come in rafts from countries so close in proximity that you just may be willing to commute that distance to and from your to home to a place of employment 5 days of the week - but so far behind in terms of progression that if our land is considered to be of the "new" or "first world", their homelands have been left behind in the "third". If you're being honest with yourself, there is no doubt that you think of them and countless others that have seen that beacon of light held high in the sky above Liberty Island "Enlightening The World" .

Being completely truthful with yourself you think of the scruffy kid you met in college, who at times seemed to be in perpetual motion - always on the go, with the weight of the world on his shoulders as he hustled back and forth from job to job funding his "chance". All just so he could slide through at the bottom of the class in a triumph that would rival that of your school's summa cum laude recipients. Or think of the kid you watched wait tables at the local greasy spoon until would he one day own the place. Maybe you even think of the girl who was subjected to an unplanned teen-pregnancy in high school, but now as an adult raises a healthy family on the salary she makes as a youth counselor educating young women who are at risk of facing the same fate. Then there's the story that always warms your heart, the one that you gladly share with friends and family whenever it comes to mind about the down-trodden, underprivileged, undereducated, overburdened guy that you seen come up from waving a change cup in hand on a street corner, to zipping by you each day with a smile on his face, leaving his apartment, on his way to work. Or hey, if you're seriously, seriously being honest with yourself, you may even think of... YOU.

See with all that's going on in the world, with all the images pushed into your head, with all the expectancies and the demands that are laid upon those of us stuck in the middle, the biggest problem we may have within this jumble of extreme plight and prosperity is that we forget about ourselves. Yes, if you admire the openly apparent accomplishments of your neighbors, by all means, be inspired. But, by no means what so ever should you feel compelled to keep up with the pace they have set for themselves - for, that is who that set it for, themselves. Nor should you allow yourself to feel pressured to live like the ever-present, star-spangled, celebrity "Jones'". The darlings of mass media that sneak into your home each day are paid well to do so, but you must remember that there's always more to it than what meets the eye. If you really want to be inspired, look no further than yourself. Look at what you've done to make your life and the lives of others just a bit better - no matter how small that bit may seem (you gotta start somewhere)- and build from there. Reward yourself for your past accomplishments and use that positive energy as a stimulus for triumphs of the future. If the greatest accomplishment of your own that you can recall is taking one step toward a goal that lies 10 paces away, use that first step as a catalyst to take the second - see how much closer you are?

Where ever you may be in life, you worked hard to get there and if you've fueled yourself with positive energy along the way, that place is undoubtedly somewhere to be proud of. So, the next time you find yourself caught in the middle of the world's madness, take a quick time out and with a full open hand - fingers spread wide - give yourself a congratulatory pat on the back; or as we like to call it around here, a "Personal High-Five"!!!

Peace