Perseverance
In my newsletter about patience, I briefly mentioned the concept of perseverance; however, I’d like to further define and investigate the idea of perseverance in more detail. To my mind, it is more than patience or even faith. Instead it is the tenacity to stay with some goal or belief with such determination that nothing can convince me to give up. Whether it’s following through with something like education, personal achievement or it’s my belief in God, nothing can cause me to quit or abandon it. It transcends doubt and procrastination and requires real determination.
But when is perseverance really stubbornness or the following of misguided ideas and engaging in meaningless projects? It’s been often noted that the definition of insanity “is repeatedly doing the same actions and getting the same unwanted results.” The difference, I think, is that with perseverance there is an intuitive sense that despite the odds, action or belief is the right thing to think and do regardless of circumstances.
What about the “dark night of the soul” that sees almost no hope or faith remaining? It is like a spiritual desert where there is only darkness with no apparent way forward. A long time ago, during a very long hike, I was walking with someone I knew. I wanted to quit, but he told me to “just put it in automatic.” In other words, don’t think at all, simply walk on. Sometimes in life one needs to persevere and walk on when hope and faith have been exhausted. Then it’s necessary to walk through the gloom until hope and faith somehow reappear. In this “dark night” it’s impossible to see a way forward, so I must continue on, even when despair happens.
I have noticed that no one’s life is without major challenges despite appearances. For example, a rich person may have serious health issues. A famous person might have major disappointments with family members or friends. Sometimes certain beliefs can cause distrust or hatred of others. The whole idea of major challenges is wrapped up in the concept of dealing with change, which is truly one of the few constants that exist. In all of these situations, a strong sense of perseverance may be required when certain actions or an open mind is really important.
In our culture, I think, change is happening so quickly that perseverance might mean realizing that when change is advocated, it might be infatuation and needs to be ignored. Then the determination to stick with projects and beliefs is important in order to fulfill life’s purpose. So it becomes a balancing act between perseverance and managing world desires and attachments.
In my own life, perseverance has come in small degrees in specific situations. Specific health crises have required perseverance at specific times during explicit events. By overcoming these particular problems, I’ve gradually developed self-discipline and self-confidence. Trusting in God to help me no matter how badly things appeared has given me perseverance with individual problems, even when darkness seems everywhere.
But for me, perseverance, at times, has been misdirected stubbornness and the inability to understand and accept change when it was needed. Specifically, I once thought that meditation, for example, was ludicrous, and I openly joked about it, and even made fun of people who talked about or practiced it. It was only through despair and a total lack of being able to manage my thoughts and feelings that I eventually successfully got involved with meditation. Then, ironically, it took perseverance to stick with it, as it slowly helped me manage my thoughts and emotions.
In my writing, the opposite has been true. I had to give up on my strong belief that I could make a living by writing and had to accept the fact, that although I could usually get readers interested in my work, I could never make money at it. Perseverance didn’t work for me.
In general, perseverance is the truest form of self-discipline that exists but requires facing the world and its challenges with unflinching resolve despite all appearances. Probably everyone faces times when the “dark night” requires us to move ahead with courage and strength even when situations may appear hopeless. Eventually, a stronger deeper faith can often emerge, and it allows us to stare down at the abyss and not give up. This means facing fear, real and imagined, in order to live with purpose in life. For me, this means sometimes waiting for hope to appear even if I walk on with no clear direction.
I’d like to finish by sharing my poem from my new book: Poems of Faith, Hope and Love. See you next week!
Now I Must Wait Patiently
I really need to pray today and feel God’s quiet presence.
My thoughts are many miles away creating only tension.
The world becomes a burden now because my mind is troubled.
Uncertain now, I live in doubt, and life remains a struggle.
I still believe in love and grace but I can’t shake this feeling.
Every day I feel the pain and finally I am weary.
Yet, every time I feel let down when I am lost and hurting,
I recognize how I have grown and that I still am learning.
God’s grace that I have known before has rid my heart of anguish.
Although I’m down, I can’t ignore, the times when I’ve been selfish.
So now I must with patiently and make some good decisions.
God will not abandon me, but I still need to listen.
(Please remember these are my own ideas, and I’m not attempting to persuade anyone to change theirs.)
Quotes:
“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.” A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
“Never, never, never give in!” Winston S. Churchill
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