toughness

Poem for Today

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Mother to Son

Langston Hughes

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.

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Photo for Today

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Thinking Out Loud ~ Answer the Call

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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.”

Thinking Out Loud ~ Take the Chance on the Adventure

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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.

Photo for the Day ~ Bounce Back

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Thinking Out Loud ~ You Are Tougher than the Challenge

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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.

Thinking Out Loud ~ Know the Why and Bear Almost Any How

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Victor Frankl in Man’s Search for Meaning spoke of two prisoners who were considering committing suicide. In talking with the men, he helped them discover meaning in their lives. Tor one man, it was his  child who waiting for him in a safe country. And for the other, it was the completion of a scientific book that he hadn’t finished . . . . Frankl said, “A man who becomes conscious all the responsibility he bears towards a human being, who affectionately waits for him, or to an unfinished work, will never be able to throw away his life. He knows the “why” of his existence and will be able to bear almost any “how.” Pps. 87-87

NOTE: It takes heaps of courage to stop living for one’s self and to live for others. Once that leap is made and life instantly changes. One becomes an instrument of love, healing, and inspiration. The leap of courage is one of stepping out of one’s silo and daring to engage the world.

Something to Think About ~ We Can Choose How We Respond

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Victor Frankl in Man’s Search for Meaning challenges us to think about life in a way that is far different from what we read and watch in the media. He says, “We had to learn ourselves, and, furthermore, we had to reach the despairing men, that it did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us.  . . . Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answers to its problems, and to fulfill the task, which it constantly sets for each individual. Pp 85

NOTE: Our lives are not identical but they are similar. We each face moments of challenge. Some face burdens that make me marvel at their inner toughness and how they managed. I think of my grandmother (nonna), widowed with eleven children still at home. There was no welfare in those days. Yet, she knew her responsibility was to serve and protect her eleven children. To her credit, all eleven grew up to be productive citizens. We can’t choose what happens to us, we can choose how we respond to it. Stay strong.

Feel Good Tip for Today ~ A Fig Tree’s Lesson

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Four years ago I planted a fig tree. My fig tree withstood the brutal freeze that hit south Texas two years ago. It withstood an ice storm this year. It lost some branches in the process, but it bounced back. Right now it is loaded with an abundant crop of figs. I picked my first figs yesterday and savored every bite. My fig tree is a good example for us. It handles the tough times, it bounces back, and it continues to produce abundant fruit. Never quit. Never give up.

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