The Steps Go Up

I aimed for the top

I worked non-stop

Accolades came my way

But the goal seemed far away

Each step took me closer

But I still felt like a loser

The goal post constantly shifted

I moved forward but away it drifted

There was not a minute of rest

For always there was a next

Just as it all seemed within my grasp

The joy itself slipped through my clasp

Higher though I was from where I started

I found climbing further up harder

Frustration, disappointment, envy, smallness

Swamped me, making me feel powerless

I gave up, retired to the pavilion hurt

Craving no more to quench my thirst

Enjoying what I had, grateful to have run

Finding rat race is not my kind of fun

Then I noticed something strange

What had always been within range 

In each rung lay a story to tell

I had only not been too mindful

Each moment has so much to give

All one has to do is to live

For now, for this moment

And all cravings go dormant

Taking you to the topmost rung

Without effort, without being stung

Feeling on top of the world every day

Happiness is not too far away!