It’s funny how different, perspectives can be
And how they’re affected by one’s upbringing
How little they change while in university
But how foundational they are to what one believes
We’re taught all along to shoot for the moon
To set our goals high and not give up too soon
To make lots of money and start something new
But should success be defined by the big things we do?
And then there are others who go with the flow
They do nothing at all, just enjoying the show
They waste their whole life, no purpose in sight
But that can’t be success, that just can’t be right
Up until now my perspective was the first
It was the big things in life that gave me my worth
I spent all my time focused on those
Those things like degrees – successes that show
I’m starting to see that life’s more than that
There is a third way to live, a third way to act
And this way is quite different and needs some explaining
It’s not really an opposite, and it’s constantly changing
A story should serve to explain what I mean
About a little poor boy and a rich mighty king
We’ll start with the king, born in a home like yours
Taught what success was, always striving for more
He worked hard to be happy and made it his aim
Gaining lots of good friends and money and fame
He wasn’t born a king, which you might find passing strange
As kings are usually born that way, but this man made that change
See he did many big things and affected many big people
He bought the school new classrooms and the church a new steeple
Many of the people liked him more than their king
So the old one lost his throne, and of the new one would they sing
The crowds looked up to him and told their children his story
Of how hard he worked and what he did to win his glory
But the king told it different, if you asked him in person
Because he committed his life to obtain this position
And he thought all he needed to make himself happy
Was wealth, fame and power, but something was lacking
And that’s when we turn to the poor little boy
Born as an orphan with no reason for joy
He lived in the slums and on city streets
Begging for spare change, to buy a few eats
With no money, no fame, no power to be had
The poor little boy had no reason to be glad
He’d save the whole world a mouth to feed
If he dove in the river and didn’t come up to breathe
At least that’s the message, if we stay consistent
To the money, fame and power reasons for existence
But the poor little boy never went to school
Never learned of that success, that success so cruel
So he decided instead to keep on living
And take joy in the little things that he had been given
He smiled every morning as he watched the sun rise
And laughed late at night, as he danced with fireflies
He always had a smile for everyone to see
And did lots of little things to make others happy
Everybody knew him as the little orphan boy
But every time they said his name it brought a smile of joy
Now when the king died there was a great procession
Everyone was there and the High Priest gave the blessing
All his life’s achievements were written on a stone
But his epitaph ended with “he never found his home”
And when the orphan breathed his last, they laid him in a hole
And a little monk from a little abbey blessed his little soul
He had no great stone, just a small wooden board
And on it was written, “he loved others, and the Lord.”
Now the aim of this story isn’t to preach
And your praises are not the things that it seeks
It’s merely here to give some perspective
On the important things in life and how I’ve been affected
It’s the little things, like writing a letter
Or learning guitar or eating better
That have changed my perspective, and are changing my view
You see it’s that little things matter and should be pursued
So from this day and forward my life I commit
To find joy in the little things we so often forget
-by Ben Ankenmann
March 10, 2012
Hamilton
