Failure in Success??

Original full sized painting can be viewed at 

 

http://wolfie-chama.deviantart.com/art/Beautiful-Lies-93475516   

 

   The Race by Norah

When I was still a little girl. Mum taught me how to run, To leap over water puddles And race the setting sun. When I was still in primary school, I learned to shut my mouth, To try to not seem like a fool Though there's something to share about. When I was just a teenager, I learned to run The Race, To turn deaf ears against counsel And wear a stony face. When I was an adult at last, I learned to move ahead, To surpass all by being fast Even when my strength waned. When I had caught up with Old Age, There was none better than I, For I had won The Race -- so what? I missed so much in life. I never looked up at the sky, I was watching my pounding feet; I never stopped to laugh or cry, I thought I would seem weak. I never found my life partner, I did not have time to; I never helped those who fell down, I feared that I might too. I closed my heart and mind and soul And crossed the finishing line, I've won this stupid race -- so what? I wish I was behind. When your daughter writes such a heart-wrenching poem, how not to feel sad and guilty. She wrote this when she was taking her national exams at 17 years of age. All the while, like most other mothers, I would that she would be spared from any pain, any regrets, any failure. But then without failure, where is the success? Without pain, where is the consolation? Then the question is : Have I pushed her too hard? Have I deprived her of the ability to be happy? Can ambition eradicate happiness? Or can it replace it? At the end of the day, in my eagerness to ensure success so that we can help them to achieve financial stability and hopefully happiness, have I taken away the ability to be content, to be at peace?