Success is living up to your potential. That's all. Wake up with a smile and go after life.... Live it, enjoy it, taste it, smell it, feel it. ~ Joe Knapp

Am I successful? I'd like to think so. Have I lived up to my potential? I doubt it.

Do I awake with a smile? Some days, some not. If my husband had his way, more often than not.

Go after life... Sometimes I feel like life is chasing after me.

Live It. There is no other choice, for to not live it would be to experience your own death with your heart still beating.

Enjoy it. This I do. To the fullest. Every breath I take, every sight I've seen, every note I've song and every word I've spoken. I know the true value of life and I hold it dear to my heart, for in the blink of an eye, it is gone. The invaluable lesson of experiencing death of a loved one. A lesson one wishes to never be repeated. However, every moment grieved is due to a moment once cherished.

Taste it. This one, this one is what got me into trouble. I child of finicky taste, food was selected rarely based upon pleasure and mostly upon what was the least evil tasting. Now, my taste buds are fully developed, eager to make up for lost time. No morsel, no texture, no tingling, tantalizing taste would escape my palate now. Oh? You mean taste the experience of life, not food? Pleassseee.... this is a weight loss web-site after all....

Smell it. The clean smell of a freshly rinsed earth. The heart warming smell of a freshly bathed babe. The smell of flowers blooming in the spring and the scent of newly mowed lawn in the heat of a hot summer day. The scents of a home cooked meal, the sweat of my lovers skin, a camp fire, death, my mother's arms and my father's rage, the smells of a lifetime imprinted upon my brain, ready to spring forth a memory at the slightest whiff of the past. The photographs carefully logged into the picture books not nearly as vivid as the recreation in my mind.

Feel it. Ahh... to feel life, not only upon the fingertips, but also upon the heart. One touch invoking, stirring the heart. The touch of life, so fragile, so fleeting. To feel life, all the senses must be called upon, sight, hearing, smelling, touching, taste and if life should feel inclined to cheat you of one or more, your given the ability to improve upon the others; thereby, sensing more of one to make up for the lack of the other.

Am I successful? Have I lived up to my potential? Maybe. Maybe I could have been more; but what I'm lacking in one area of my life, I've certainly been given the ability to improve upon the other areas of my life. Thereby, making up for the lack of the other. To be successful I have to be grateful for how far I've come and understanding of where I've been, in all aspects of my life. My potential for success is only limited by my ignorance of the possibilities of what I'm capable of achieving.

Success
1 obsolete : outcome, result
2 a: degree or measure of succeeding b: favorable or desired outcome ; also : the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence3: one that succeeds