How Do I Measure Success - Essay Example

COOK OUT AT THE FOREST. A short story by Write your name please It was one Sunday morning, and we have been enjoying for about a week in a nearby forest. This day I was just sitting outside our tent chatting to my sister. The food for the remaining week was the topic of our conversation. My sister and her three siblings were taking care of the meals while I was minding the cleanliness and offering moral support. “I have washed the dish for the whole week. “ I said. I hope they will not get dirty again.” “Nope,” she said with a sarcastic tone. From now on we will be fasting. This is the true meaning of the cook out my beloved sister”. “What is the meaning of your utterances? “Exactly as you understand them, but as a matter of fact I do not blame you, I know you are just a lazy bone” she added with haste. Not wanting to exchange words with her, I went and embraced her as I whispered these words to her. “My sister you know you are right and that is why I love you. You know me perfectly well”. She smiled and said “please stop being naïve it is only a week to go and I am sure to help you with your dishes just shout when help is needed and I will hope and stand without arguing or complaining.” I was so touched by her kind words, and I felt very encouraged. At this particular moment, I wished I had a heart like hers. But, oh no I was so aggressive at times and jokes to me could sound very nasty. To her she was so bored sick with the idea of staying for another week of enduring my do not care attitude and character and, she had gotten a very good chance to talk me out of it. Little did I know that my provoking utterances were going to be a starting point of our next agenda? “My sister”, she called me. “Yes,” I answered. “What is the true meaning of happiness? She asked. I was dumfounded. In fact, I soliloquized, what could have triggered this type of question? Then I answered her that “true meaning of happiness is being successful in life.” She looked at me without even blinking and said “you are damn right my dear, and I think having a chance to be here just as a family in a quite place, is an achievement, source of happiness and indeed a success”. Not wanting to show her that I was flabbergasted, I just pushed a chair next to her and told her to explain. “Clarify your point my sister, indeed, I can see you have a varied point, but I wonder if it is far fetched”. I said calmly. She went on and on telling me what we have and achieved in life, and I was just there looking at her. She continued with what makes her happy and how she feels to be born in a successful family. I vividly remember her saying,” my sister, to me this is a legacy, and I would like to cater for my children very well, I would like to leave them a lot of resources as well as money that they will never lack, this will make them understand the true meaning of happiness as well as how to live as successful people. However, this does not mean that I am literally talking of material goods. No, I am referring to riches that can not be taken away from them. Indeed, I mean that I want to be a good example to them so that they can imitate me and become truly successful”. She said with a conviction. It is at this particular juncture that I realized I needed to change for better. Not wanting to show her my true feelings pertaining to this topic. I just replied. “My sister, indeed we are very lucky, and I thank God for all we have, truly I am grateful, but to me the true meaning of happiness and the meaning of success totally differs with your own concept of success”. “How”? She retorted. “To me success can only be measured with the amount of joy I give to other people whom I encounter daily. Therefore, being here with you and your sibling is an achievement and a blessing. This is because I am giving my time, to share and converse with you. So in one way or the other I am being a blessing to you. To me success is being a blessing to other people.” I said with a conviction. “Well answered my darling sister.” She replied. Indeed you are very right. And this brings us back to the cleanliness duty that you allotted yourself. We agreed on sharing and making everyone feel at ease and comfortable while we are here for the duration of two weeks. Here, we are now chatting to each other. You seem to be very comfortable talking on being a blessing to others but imagine you grumbling over cleaning the utensils. Come on sister, if success to you means being a blessing to other people then be this blessing to us for the remaining time”. Not wanting to show her how agitated I was I stood up with haste and offered to prepare some coffee for them. It was at this particular moment that I meditated over my services to others. I spent almost fifteen minutes making coffee and at this time I came to realize that words should lime with our actions. After offering them coffee I excused myself and went for a peripatetic walk. This time I internalized the words that I had said earlier and the comment of my sister. For sure the true meaning of success is being a blessing to others in terms of what I am and not what I have. From that moment, I made up my mind to render my services without arguing or complaining. “God loves a cheerful giver” and even in Philippians he has said that we must do everything without arguing or complaining” I soliloquized as I took my walk. “Oh! It’s already one O’clock!” I exclaimed. I took a quick pace back to the tent. Here, I met my sister with her sibling making up the dinner table. Without any delay, I quickly joined them, and we sat quietly to enjoy our meal. Not so used to quietness, I said “ oh thank you so much for the piece of advice and for this dinner I am sure I was cooked with a tender loving care” My sister and her siblings were so pleased and Leah the younger one patted me at my back. After dinner, I did the dishes and then went out to play with my sister and her siblings. Believe it all not this could be called the starting point of my cookout. From this day, I felt come and happy to be at the forest enjoying my time and services with my family. This became the real meaning of happiness and success. I felt I was in the right place and at the right time. What more could one need if not just to spend most of his or her time with those who are dear and near to her. I took some time to write this piece of work in my journal, Today, I have learnt that actions and words should align; being happy and being successful cannot be measured with what we have but with what we are. Just because I am me I am successful and happy, but the secret to this happiness and success depends on being a blessing to other people. Yes, it is true that sometimes we tend to think that life is all about me and not anyone else. But as true human beings who want to live as our Heavenly, Father, there is a need to do everything minding the feelings of the other people. If other people could offer generously who am I to offer and grumble? Success is a concept that is mistaken by so many people. They measure it in terms of how much they have materially. But I thank God that my sister has made me realize that success and happiness are two different entities which moves parallel yet they combined to help us enjoy life. This means that we must spend our time as true givers with our whole heart soul and mind. Indeed, success and happiness was the main lesson for me during this cookout. How best do I spend my time and to offer services to others, to be truly me, and to be a blessing to others? Living one day at a time, working towards a collective way of becoming successful together with those close to me and spending time with others is being a blessing to others. Cookout is used figuratively to mean time to sit and reflect about our life. And in order for this to happen successfully we need a challenge and a push from others. It was my sister who made me realize that life is not all about uttering words without knowing their true meaning. It is matching these words with our daily life. Success I all about giving and happiness depends with how we give what we give. That is why cheerful giving determines who we really are. Yes, cook out can be a time to show a person the other side of the coin. It is a time to reflect as St Augustine had ones said “an unexamined life is not worth living” therefore, time out with family and friends can help us to reflect about ourselves and thus internalize our true sense of being which will help us to have a turning point of our life towards the extreme good. There is a need to wait for the next cook out to learn and teach others something new. Write your contact here please Read More