I’ve a humble little motto
That is homely, though it’s true,—
Keep a-pluggin’ away.
It’s a thing when I’ve an object
That I always try to do,—
Keep a-pluggin’ away.
When you’ve rising storms to quell,
When opposing waters swell,
It will never fail to tell,—
Keep a-pluggin’ away.
If the hills are high before
And the paths are hard to climb,
Keep a-pluggin’ away.
And remember that successes
Come to him who bides his time,—
Keep a-pluggin’ away.
From the greatest to the least,
None are from the rule released.
Be thou toiler, poet, priest,
Keep a-pluggin’ away.
Delve away beneath the surface,
There is treasure farther down,—
Keep a-pluggin’ away.
Let the rain come down in torrents,
Let the threat’ning heavens frown,
Keep a-pluggin’ away.
When the clouds have rolled away,
There will come a brighter day
All your labor to repay,—
Keep a-pluggin’ away.
There ‘ll be lots of sneers to swallow.
There’ll be lots of pain to bear,—
Keep a-pluggin’ away.
If you’ve got your eye on heaven,
Some bright day you’ll wake up there,
Keep a-pluggin’ away.
Perseverance still is king;
Time its sure reward will bring;
Work and wait unwearying,—
Keep a-pluggin’ away.
Well, son, I’ll tell you:
Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
It’s had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor—
Bare;
But all the time
I’se been a’climbin’ on,
And reachin’ landin’s,
And turnin’ corners,
And sometimes goin’ in the dark,
Where there ain’t been no light.
So boy, don’t you turn back;
Don’t you sit down on the steps,
’Cause you finds it’s kinder hard;
Don’t you fall now—
For I’se still goin’, honey,
I’se still climbin’,
And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
Joseph Campbell says in Reflections on the Art of Living, “The heroes journey always begins with the call. One way or another, a guide must come to say, “Look, you’re in Sleepy Land. Wake. Come on a trip. There is a whole aspect of your consciousness, you’re being, that’s not been touched. So, you’re at home here? Well, there’s not enough of you there” And so it starts.
Note: I think at some point we’re all called to “the hero’s journey.” It begins if we hear the call. The call usually comes when it takes us to a place we don’t want to go. It takes us to a place where we are uncomfortable and challenged. If we answer the hero’s call, we will discover our true destiny through the multiple tests we’ll encounter. If we fail to answer the hero’s call, we’ll languish always wondering “what if.”
Joseph Campbell says in Reflections on the Art of Living, “Follow your bliss. . . . The heroic life is living the individual adventure. . . . Nothing is exciting. if you know what the outcome is going to be. . . . You enter the forest at the darkest point. Where there is no path. Where there is a way or path it is someone else’s path. You are not on your own path. If you follow someone else’s way, you are not going to realize your potential.” P. 22
Note: When we are young, we often look up to adults we admire and want to be like them. If we’re fortunate, the adults we admire step aside and help us to discover our gift and then encourage us to find the path that leads to developing our gift and sharing it with others. If we are tracked into someone else’s path, we may be successful and rich, but we’ll never fully discover our gift or potential. Take the chance on the adventure. There’s no security. You may get knocked down and forced to confront many challenges. They are there for you to grow, gain wisdom, and strength.
Joseph Campbell says in Reflections on the Art of Living, “Opportunities to find deeper powers within ourselves, when life seems most challenging. . . . Negativism to the pain and ferocity of life is negativism to life. . . . We are not there until we can say yes to it all. P. 20
Note: The saying, used by many who exercise, “no pain no gain” is also true in other aspects of life. Our greatest life lessons come from the moments of great challenges. We will be challenged. Challenges are unavoidable. The best way to deal with challenges is to go through them. When we face our challenges head on, we come out, stronger, more resilient, and wiser.
