Grit.

There is much talk of grit lately — the trendy word for the ability to persevere. Grit as the secret ingredient of what makes a person successful. Success in relation to finances, fame, number one in work.

And as I step back, I think about what the USA chooses to use this magic — this grit — this drive — for. It seems to me it’s almost solely to make monetary means the golden prize. Almost so much so that dare I say it has falsely become the definition of our human existence.

Maybe we need to get back to the pondering what it is that makes someone successful.

To me, success is finding your everyday passion for life. Success is the daily practice of balance. Success is taking care of yourself physically, mentally, emotionally so that you’re healthy and strong enough to give back to others. Success is the opportunity to be vulnerable, loving and caring and empowering others to do the same. Success is living a life of love and compassion.

That may sound la dee da and hippieish to most of you folks, but let me tell you, it is hard. Damn hard to train your brain, your mind, your soul to subscribe to this lifestyle and to do it every day when there’s an inclination to just say, fuck that. There are many instances, personal instances, in which I have been pushed to the brink of overload, of dangling on the edge, of being inflamed and swollen with anger and hatred. How easy and good would it feel to just scream and yell and shout and hurt someone as much as they’ve hurt me (which I’ve done) or blame the asshole for being a fucking asshole and then be an asshole to the asshole for good measure so that person can finally know what it feels like and maybe learn from that and finally feel compassionate (which I’ve also done). Deep breath. Ah. Yeah. Felt good just writing that. And I choose to acknowledge and accept that part of being human — those short-lived spouts of emotional rage — and move on from it. And as I grow, those periods of !@$#@! get shorter and shorter, allowing myself to flow beyond that even more rapidly than before. It is only after mindful acceptance am I able to feel the underlying theme of all actions of love and encourage that feeling to take over me so that it may spread throughout my body, thoughts and actions. It is a daily struggle. It is a moment to moment struggle. It is a lifetime struggle.

And this my friend, takes grit.

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Grit

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Perseverance.

The drive to remind myself every single day that we are all human and more than anything else need compassion. That we all experience struggles and hurt and pain and desire and beauty and acceptance and to live and love knowing that. And that, my friends, is what I focus my grit on.