That’s Perseverance, which my friend Meg wrote in 2010. It’s really a good goto book, mostly short one-page essays that touch the theme of perseverance. I’m glad for this collection. Meg’s been touching my heart for a long, long time.
In Perseverance, Meg asks,
How is it that some people persevere,
remaining steadfast and persistent no matter what?
How is it that some people, even with failures, betrayals, and set-backs,
still keep going, working for what they care about?
How do they not fall victim to exhaustion and despair?
How do they preserve their energy, their motivation, their faith?
I’m glad to have such questions guiding me. Reminding me — cause, most of us face those days when we say, or want to say, fuck it.
But also because, as my friends Jerry and Kathy reminded me yesterday in our Shades of Life Conversation, most people are inherently good, and care about neighbors, dogs, cats, gardens, helping out.
People persevere, I persevere, when we / I remember the bigger story, the centering purpose. People persevere when they / I have friends and colleagues that learn together, that laugh and cry together. People persevere when they / I have others that understand, “not today, I just don’t have it” or “it’s OK, I got you.”
Thx Meg. Thx to all my persevering peeps close in and a bit more distant getting to the enduring, persevering heart of it.
