“When nothing seems to help I go and look at a stone cutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it but all that had gone before.” Jacob Riis
I watched as the man shuffled down the aisle carrying a weight around his waist which screamed anxiety to me. He appeared to be quite old until I glimpsed his face and discovered he was maybe at the end of middle-age. He certainly had many more good years to offer but not to his thinking. It seemed apparent he had lost the fight, given up and resolved to sit back and watch others live while he wasted. I had seen him many times before and spoke briefly a few of those moments. In another time he was vibrant, astute and humorous. I felt disheartened watching him. What happened I asked myself. Why the change I reflected. I recalled a few reasons and problems he endured and was distressed at how the flow of life beats us down if it can. Sometimes the harder we attempt to fight back, the stronger we are forced to the ground and eventually crushed. Wait a minute I thought. Not everyone stays down. Some get back up on their feet not necessarily swinging but definitely smiling.
No doubt it is difficult to keep hope alive in our hearts when life thrashes us at every corner. Many people believe that as soon as they progress a tiny bit forward one minute, they will be pounced on the next minute. Maybe we should get up and stand taller firmer stronger. When an opponent sees weakness they strike. The only difference between two equally capable athletes is the motivation and belief in themselves that they can do it. Surrendering is accepting defeat and the game is over. As long as one continues to try hope is never dead and the possibilities are always achievable.
The trick to continuing our journey regardless of outcome is to keep our goal in mind. As long as we have purposes in our life, we have reasons to strive to overcome obstacles. It is like visualizing what we want to see happen. Sometimes we may strive to achieve a goal that makes another person happy. Whatever the reason, when we find a purpose we work and try harder to attain our objective.
It seems that setting aims and performing tasks we try to complete can help us reach our intentions and at the same time defeat our loneliness. When we come to the aid of another person we are saving ourselves in the process. It empowers us with worth. We begin to realize we never really became unimportant or inconsequential to life. We simply sat down on the bench and ignored the calls from those on the battlefield of life. When we decided to stand up again to answer a call, we jump-started our drive and made a difference in the life of another. Even the smile we gave to others on any given day, reached out and said, you are someone worthy and you count.
“Life offers no guarantees… just choices; no certainty… but consequences; no predictable outcomes… just the privilege of pursuit.” Tim Conner
