"If you're going through hell, keep going." Winston Churchill
From the novel The Life of Pi, by Yann Martel (page 148 in the hardcover edition):
"I was giving up. I would have given up - if a voice hadn't made itself heard in my heart. The voice said, 'I will not die. I refuse it. I will make it through this nightmare. I will beat the odds, as great as they are. I have survived so far, miraculously. Now I will turn miracle into routine. The amazing will be seen every day. I will put in all the hard work necessary. Yes, so long as God is with me, I will not die. Amen.'
"...I speak in all modesty as I say this, but I discovered at that moment that I have a fierce will to live. ...Some of us give up on life with only a resigned sigh. Others fight a little, then lose hope. Still others - and I am one of them - never give up. We fight and fight and fight. We fight no matter the cost of battle, the losses we take, the improbability of success. We fight to the very end. It is not a question of courage. It's something constitutional, and inability to let go. It may be nothing more than life-hungry stupidity."
Is it courageous to keep fighting in the face of defeat? Is it always wise? Is it even courage? When your very survival is at stake, it is essential. "What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step. It is always the same step, but you have to take it." (Antoine de Saint-Exupery in Wind, Sand and Stars) But what about when the demons are of a subtler sort?
Sometimes it is important to rest. To trust that you do not have to do all the work. There is a Presence - call it God, call it Love, whatever - that can bouy you up when all you need to do is weep like a child and fall asleep, into sound, safe sleep.
Madeleine L'Engle, in her book Two-Part Invention, relates the following story:
"Someone tells me the story of a bishop who lost his wife and child in a tragic accident. And he said to his people, 'I have been all the way to the bottom. And it is solid.'
"Yes."
I look forward to the day when I stop striving to reach a goal, however noble that goal may be. The most noble goal I can think of is to be a loving person who makes a difference in people's lives. Yet I think that all major goals are futile if you do not live in the moment. You must deal with that perplexing dichotomy of doing good versus just being. And yet it's not a "versus." The wisdom of the Tao te ching (I prefer the Stephen Mitchell translation) deals with this dichotomy many, many times. "Where there is no desire, / all things are at peace." (from no.37). Many mystics have tackled this problem.
Sometimes one must just trust that things will turn out all right for a change if one just stops trying so hard!
Do you have the patience to wait
till your mood settles and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving
till the right action arise by itself?
The Master doesn't seek fulfillment.
Not seeking, not expecting,
she is present, and can welcome all things.
(Tao te ching, from no.35, translated by Stephen Mitchell)
Food for thought.
"I was giving up. I would have given up - if a voice hadn't made itself heard in my heart. The voice said, 'I will not die. I refuse it. I will make it through this nightmare. I will beat the odds, as great as they are. I have survived so far, miraculously. Now I will turn miracle into routine. The amazing will be seen every day. I will put in all the hard work necessary. Yes, so long as God is with me, I will not die. Amen.'
"...I speak in all modesty as I say this, but I discovered at that moment that I have a fierce will to live. ...Some of us give up on life with only a resigned sigh. Others fight a little, then lose hope. Still others - and I am one of them - never give up. We fight and fight and fight. We fight no matter the cost of battle, the losses we take, the improbability of success. We fight to the very end. It is not a question of courage. It's something constitutional, and inability to let go. It may be nothing more than life-hungry stupidity."
Is it courageous to keep fighting in the face of defeat? Is it always wise? Is it even courage? When your very survival is at stake, it is essential. "What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step. It is always the same step, but you have to take it." (Antoine de Saint-Exupery in Wind, Sand and Stars) But what about when the demons are of a subtler sort?
Sometimes it is important to rest. To trust that you do not have to do all the work. There is a Presence - call it God, call it Love, whatever - that can bouy you up when all you need to do is weep like a child and fall asleep, into sound, safe sleep.
Madeleine L'Engle, in her book Two-Part Invention, relates the following story:
"Someone tells me the story of a bishop who lost his wife and child in a tragic accident. And he said to his people, 'I have been all the way to the bottom. And it is solid.'
"Yes."
I look forward to the day when I stop striving to reach a goal, however noble that goal may be. The most noble goal I can think of is to be a loving person who makes a difference in people's lives. Yet I think that all major goals are futile if you do not live in the moment. You must deal with that perplexing dichotomy of doing good versus just being. And yet it's not a "versus." The wisdom of the Tao te ching (I prefer the Stephen Mitchell translation) deals with this dichotomy many, many times. "Where there is no desire, / all things are at peace." (from no.37). Many mystics have tackled this problem.
Sometimes one must just trust that things will turn out all right for a change if one just stops trying so hard!
Do you have the patience to wait
till your mood settles and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving
till the right action arise by itself?
The Master doesn't seek fulfillment.
Not seeking, not expecting,
she is present, and can welcome all things.
(Tao te ching, from no.35, translated by Stephen Mitchell)
Food for thought.
posted by Elizabeth | 3:36 PM
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