Remember this line by leonardo di caprio in the movie catch me if
you can?
"... two mice fell into a farmers wife's barrel's of milk one
of the gave up and drowned the other kept on swimming and stirring the
milk that eventually, the milk turned into cheese and it climbed
out..." I can't think of any analogy that best describes what i intend to
talk about.
Robert H. Schuller a best selling author entitled one of best
selling books "tough times don't last tough people do" what was not
said by that statement was that tough people where formed in the forge of tough
times and character is formed in the crucible of experience. We all hope for a
wonderful life in fact we grow up with the notion of a life where, all the
things that we desire come to us with minimum fuss and that in those cases
where we have to work hard our efforts are met with commensurate success. As we
grow older we begin to find that that particular scenario is the exception as against
the rule and we are shocked by the vicissitudes of life. Things like death of a
loved one, a messy break-up, a divorce, betrayal by a trusted confidante, a
child who is going down the wrong path, a career disappointment, a loss of an
expected promotion/job are the kind’s of "spanner in the works"
circumstances that life presents us with at various points.
Our world today, is one which is result oriented, people the world
over are invariably drawn to results, in fact the moment anyone comes up with
any quick fix he almost always guaranteed the perks that come with success. While
providing a solution to a problem should be lauded in itself, we should
understand/be aware that the innate fault inherent in the quick fix mentality;
it negates the importance of the process. Now on the surface that might not be
much of a problem but looking closely at it has created a generation of
quitters people who are not willing to work out/through tough situations people
unwilling to hang in there, unstable and disloyal people who will quit at the
slightest sign of trouble in our sitcoms and movies we applaud the
"...I QUIT..." line in fact several of them actually build
up to and crescendo at that line, today it’s not uncommon to hear
people betting huge sums of money on the longevity of a marriage or
relationship in show business. Which sadly is a template that today's
society attempts to live up to. While I find it imperative to state clearly
that there are situations that require us to cut our losses and refocus our energies
in places where we can be or are more productive it is pertinent to
point that redirecting our efforts should be a last option and not the default
setting.
The process is very vital to making stable and dependable people
of character
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We should not become people who look for the exits at the first
sign of trouble. The ultimate irony is that although, we tend
towards quitting we admire people that have stuck through their tough
times and when we are with ourselves we aspire to such strength of
character. As a matter of fact as corrupt or deviant the employers of labor are, they reward people
of character and seek after them because a man of character is a rare
breed. We should understand that it is those uncomfortable situations are
forges and anvils within which we are made. Case in point David in
the bible was anointed king as a 16/17 year old boy (I Samuel 16
vs13 )and was crowned king when he was a 30 year old man (II Samuel 5
vs 4 )
What happened in the intervening time? Why didn't he assume
the throne seeing he was anointed for it? Truth be said in today’s world he
would have had saul assassinated in order to “get there” infact we would be
maligned for not sticking it to the man.He did not because he needed to be
groomed for kingship, he need to have his charcter formed, he needed to
determine what his own values, he needed to deal with; his Goliath, Saul's
hatred, loss of his family to the amalekites (I Samuel 30 vs
3) and several setbacks he learnt how to make the right choice, he learnt
the value of patience, he learnt to guide men to battle, he assembled his team
it was only after this that he wrote the psalm "...the lord is
my shepherd..." that and other psalms that are and have been a
blessing to many people. he was so well forged that at the end of his life he
was able to say these words that we've all clung to at some point in our lives;
psalm 37 vs 25 i have been young, and now i'm old; yet have i not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
This trait of patience is one that is increasingly lost in our generation of power suits, power ties and power steering's and the truth is that we are the worse for it. The difference between the floaters and sinkers (no pun intended) in any circumstance is their reaction to the said circumstance. when faced with trying times there are two options available to us all, the first is to bow to and be overwhelmed by it (this is when people say things like i didn't have an option) or stand up and rise above the circumstance this is the true test of character and this can only come by resolving within your self that you will see the end of the situation. because at the very core of it our success or failure to overcome our challenges is a function of how we choose to see our problems; as stumbling blocks/insurmountable obstacles or stepping stones. The truth is that there isn't a one size fits all answer to the question; why does some stuff happen? but one truth that is common to everyone that has toughed it out through a trying time is that we come out stronger, tougher, weathered and confident in our experience that we can tell someone going through the same or similar situation that the light at the end of the tunnel is not a myth. And nothing even close to that self confidence that overcoming gives, that feeling that comes from knowing that at the end we are still standing smiling though scarred.
I'll conclude in the words of 7 consecutive time tour de France winner,testicular cancer survivor, winner of; sports man of the year, male athlete of the year, athlete of the year more than once and author of several books;
"...pain is temporary. it may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something will take it's place. If i quit however, it lasts forever..."
Hang in there, this too shall pass. You are a work in progress. have a God-blessed week.
Good concept!
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