He had an interesting barn-like home nestled in the woods. He was an artist who somehow got along with very little income. He was the stereotypical starving artist. I always loved to visit him because we would sit on the porch and rock in his chair to the sounds of the woods. One afternoon he said to me, “I have never been much of a success but I have to admit I love living here just sculpting.”
I need someone to define success for it seemed to me he was amazingly successful. He got up each morning and lived his passion. He made beautiful art. He had little or no stress. It seemed to me he was the most successful man I knew as opposed to many of my friends who were trapped in the rat race trying to live up to our culture’s definition of success. His income was simple but his needs were simple. While my friends were trapped in rush hour traffic on an eight-lane highway he was sitting on his porch with a good book. How ironic that financially he wasn’t worth anything but was so rich.
We need to stop letting the world define “the good life” for us. In Romans 12:2 Paul tells us not to be conformed to the world. When we are thirteen years old peer pressure is everything. As adults let’s be ourselves and forget what others think we should do. God made each of an original and being unique we should have our own unique definition of success. “That means we will not compare ourselves with each other. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.”
Galatians 5:26 The Message
Written by Roger Bothwell on July 3, 2008
Spring of Life, 901 Signorelli Circle, St. Helena, CA 94574