April 7, 2018, Prescott-
It’s been 6.5 years, but I remember:
He- “Your life has been one disappointment, after another. Your delivery has been horrible. You SEEM to expect others to carry you along.”
I (Thinking)- “My life is far from over. I may not have my nose to the grindstone, but I am NOT letting one person condemn me to the scrap heap. I may or may not amass the fortune he seems to expect, but I am going to get back to a quality life-on MY terms.”
The uncomfortable morning passed, and I’ve held my own. There has been no fortune amassed, but there is a decent life. I paid the above person back, every cent owed at the time. We have a strong bond, again, and a mutual respect has been rebuilt.
I write this, in response to a young correspondent expressing a high level of self-directed anger, in the midst of a rough patch. Some of us, indeed, hit more than our share of speed bumps, and some are imposed by other people- or by institutions, including governments. There is no limit, however, on how many times one can get back up and continue onward. Remember, Mohandas Gandhi, before he was Mahatma, and when he was a supporter of the South African government, was knocked down, repeatedly, for voicing a difference of opinion with that government. Each time, he got back up, and eventually earned a meeting with the Prime Minister.
This resilience is true, for each area of our life. I am known in my family to be nothing, if not as stubborn as an ox- and this has been the deciding factor, in keeping me alive and well. There is no reason why any person can’t climb out of a hole- despite the depth.
Each of us is more than that.