Well, hello there. My name is Morgan Harper-Nichols. I'm an artist and a writer, and this is a space where I share words that I hope can make a little room for you to slow down and take a few deep breaths as you prepare for whatever lies ahead. Thanks for being here today. And now on to today's episode.

Today's episode is about the true meaning of success. It's actually a poem that I wrote some time ago to myself as a reminder of what success actually means. Oftentimes, we can get wrapped up in the

idea of success and in how we perceive it in the world around us. We can put so much pressure on

ourselves to be successful and to achieve more than we could ever imagine or maybe even more than someone else. We can get trapped in a

cycle of constantly striving for bigger and better things without realizing how full our lives can be

right here. Whether or not you consider yourself to be the kind of person who thinks about being successful,

many of us live in a world where we are reminded of the value of being an accomplished person.

But what does it really mean to be someone who is truly accomplished and successful?

Does it mean having lots of money and material possessions?

Does it mean having a life full of love and people that you care about? Success can be hard to find.

So here's a poem that asks some of these questions. The true meaning of Success, a poem.

We often measure the success of our lives by what we accomplish, but what if success was simply defined by what we had been present to? For me, I have been present to a midday sky full of big clouds floating slowly across the sky.

I have been present to infinite raindrops falling from the same sky to the ground.

I have been present to the soil possessing the miraculous ability to produce plants that provide nourishment to the body.

I have been up close to an innumerable amount of divine living things.

I have been fully alive and present while birds were singing.

I have been fully alive and present while birds were singing. I have been fully alive and present while birds were singing. And that bird I heard that day, another bird swung by sometime after, and landed on

that same branch. And then another one came along. And then another one. A beautiful succession.

A continuum for all of time. Life goes on and on and on in a billion different directions.

And somehow I have been allowed to bear witness. I have been right here

in this life the whole time. I have been present. Success. When I think about success, I think about

how grateful I am to experience life and all of its wonders on a day-to-day

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