SUCCESS

What is success?

I have been told that success is measured by how much is in your bank account. How big your house is. Which private school your children go to.

My parents weren’t rich. We never went to private schools, or had the latest brand named clothes or had the latest gadgets. We lived on knowledge and compassion. When my brother and I wanted to go on school trips, we did chores around the house and saved up our pocket money so that we could pay for it ourselves.

We didn’t want to shame our parents when they had to say no because we didn’t have the money.

By the time I was 11 years old my parents already had huge bills on their credit cards. At christmas time our mother used to ask us what we wanted and I would always try and choose one thing. I only asked for one thing because I knew that we didn’t have much to go around. Yet I would always receive a mountain of presents anyway. I was greatful to my parents for buying me such lovely gifts but I would later cry myself to sleep because I knew where the money had come from.

We were always living above our means but somehow we always managed to pull through.

I envied my parents enthusiasm. They would always tell me how so many people had it worse off than us whenever we couldn’t afford out grocery shopping. How embarassing it must have been for my parents to see the declined picture on the screen isn a packed supermarket. But my mother would smile and pick up the remaining bags and we’d carry on like it didn’t matter.

When we got outside, she’d give what little change she had left to the beggars outside the store and I remember I’d get a lump in the back of my throat when I’d look into my bags and see the expensive cake I asked for instead of the meat that mother had picked up.

I remember taking it out of the bag and giving it to the poor man sleeping in a rubbish bag. I cried as I lamented that though it wasn’t bread or water or nourishing at all, I thought he needed it more than I. He took my hands and hugged me tightly. Saying how fine a thing it is that a child should give away her birthday cake for a complete stranger.

No. Success isn’t measured by how much or how little you have. In my opinion it is measured by your integrity for doing more than is necessary for those who need it most.