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 beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
For many years I have kept this quote in a prominent place in my home, because for me, it not only encapsulates—as Emerson says—the essence of success but constitutes the quintessential definition of being fully human, fully embodied.
In times of upheaval, definitions of success and of what it means to be human are invariably overturned in the light of new awarenesses dawning in collective and individual consciousness. Whenever I read this quote, I find myself asking, how might the history of Western civilization have been different, had we lived our lives according to Emerson’s definition of success? Sadly, we have missed the most authentic characteristics of success in our desperation to achieve material comfort and status among our peers. This is precisely why the unraveling of the old paradigm had to occur. We now have a new opportunity; we can redefine success and discover the deeper layers of our humanity.
Each time I read Emerson’s words, I notice the opposites in it—intelligent people juxtaposed with children, honest critics with false friends. All descriptions then culminate in the final one: to know that one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
Is anyone breathing easier today because you have lived? Are you breathing easier because someone else has lived? What has been your sphere of influence so far in this life? What is your sphere of influence in current time?
Prior to the enormous transition in which we now find ourselves, we spoke frequently—and, as it turns out, somewhat irrelevantly—about “making a difference in the world.” Indeed, many of us have made a difference, but with hindsight, we realize that it may have been too little too late. How we make a difference going forward will be unlike anything we could have imagined. Who in this hurting world needs your healing touch or just simply needs you to listen? What an exciting and terrifying time to be alive! What an opportunity to reenvision and reexperience the deepest layers of success and to taste the wine of fully embodied humanity.