Don't Quit ~ The Silver Tint of the Clouds of Doubt...

Don't Quit...

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow--
You may succeed with another blow,
Success is failure turned inside out--
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

~ Anonymous ~





I have known this passage since I was young. It comes into my life just when I need it and then drifts off into the ethers again. It has just returned. Late yesterday evening fragments were floating in my foggy mind, but this morning, with the rising of the sun, it all came clear.

Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

There is the tendency, when we come upon hard times, to throw in the towel, to be frozen in time, to curl back into ourselves, in the fetal position, as if we were trying to climb back into the womb, but there is no going backward, and surviving.

Don't give up when the pace seems slow.

Waiting. Waiting for a loved one who has been suffering for far too long, and is struggling. Waiting, and not knowing. Watching a dream take flight as our heart leaves our body with the one flying toward the horizon and disappears and we try desperately to hold on like the tail of a kite. Waiting. Everything in slow motion, too slow. This is the time when it is easy to give up, to numb out, to want to rush through that which must move at the speed of molasses, to curl in upon ourselves in the fetal position and rock ourselves into a deep sleep. But then a moment comes when there is a sea-change. Something inside ourselves turns in another direction. It is possible not to give up, while still moving forward.

I have not been able to do my fiber work since Henry disappeared. I have been working on very large projects and they were too overwhelming to take up. But stasis does not serve either. Today I picked up a lovely little spoolknitter that my dear friend Noreen made, and I started spooling a cord that will be wonderful for a necklace. Baby steps, but steps, moving forward, one step at a time.

And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far...

How often have we been ready to give up on someone or something only to find that if we stayed the course we would find an answer, just around the corner. I believe that is where the saying, "It is darkest before the dawn," came from. I have found myself sitting, rocking in the dark, waiting for the break of day when the wild birds gather at the feeders, thinking that maybe if Henry was still in the area he would come to eat. With no voice due to this terrible chest cold I have I have whispered his name on the wind, hoping that he would hear me, and finally I must come in and start the day. There are five other parrots waiting for their breakfast and fresh water. The dogs are out, in, have their breakfast, go out again, come in again, and as they finish the parrots have eaten and are splashing and bathing. I make my coffee, the sun is brighter now, higher in the sky. I scan the horizon, and then I sit down with my coffee and start to work.

So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

No, I don't lose faith and I don't give up. I do see that silver lining in the clouds and know that there are many good things to come, despite everything. I'll pick up my spoolknitter and the white/pink/fuschia cotton yarn will make a lovely cord. There is always smallwork that might be done and once that energy is going it warms us up to keep the forward momentum to get through the rest of the day. So no, don't quit, I tell myself, and I give myself a little nudge, and I keep rolling along.

Dont quit when life sends you a hard lesson. Look at the clouds. There are many answers there...

Maitri