There is now a "for the love of reading" stand at the cafe in my village. The cafe sells samosas and cakes and sno cone. I picked up two books to read and review. I need to read more books and this will make me a better writer. I am sharing my before thoughts in this blog post and I want to compare with my after thoughts. These two books might be worlds apart but I feel like they will help me think about the measure of success.
The Elephant Whisperer explores the life and journey of a herd of rescued elephants. I feel like all of us have messed up at some points in our lives. How do we learn from failures? How do we overcome challenges? How do we journey on despite these? How do we rescue ourselves from defeat? Sometimes life presents us with unexpected opportunities to learn and grow and become better. What can nature and animals teach us about ourselves and life? If we love what we do and we are guided by love then success is inevitable or perhaps immaterial. The important thing is that we are learning and aiming for better. We can find inspiration and aspiration in the stories of others. We should not be afraid to ask for help and we should celebrate our efforts towards success.
Sidney Poitier was a celebrated actor. In The Measure of a Man he looks back at his life and thinks about the values he set for himself. I think this will be a great read for me. He is a role model and someone I can look up to. Truthfully I have not watched any of his movies and I do not know much about him. He was an island boy like myself and he was awarded an honorary degree from Morehouse College. We are spiritual beings. The life of Sidney and the impact of his being lives on. I hope that his story helps me shape my own measure of success and inspires me to aim for greatness.
Success is different for everyone. We have to be careful that we measure our success through the eyes of others and society. I think success is about living a life of values and purpose that makes us comfortable and happy. You may think differently and that is fine. What we can do though is learn from each others and share our stories. Stories that make us think and reflect. I am excited to open myself to two new and different worlds. It just occurs to me that maybe some things cannot be measured. Albert Einstein once said, "Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts."
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