“Conquering any difficulty always gives one a secret joy, for it means pushing back a boundary-line and adding to one’s liberty.”
~Henri Frederic Amiel
I awoke this morning with a song in my heart. So much to be grateful for, including the sunrise, every so gently diffused by the clouds. It gave me a little extra time to sit and be, before the brilliance put spots in my eyes, my signal that it’s time to go inside ….
So yesterday I was described as “persistent”. As a teacher or coach, I sat and asked myself this morning how this has come to be? How did I learn to be “persistent” (assuming that persistence is a good trait LOL)? How do I teach that?
I believe that participating in sports in my youth has much to do with it.
I took gymnastics for two years, learned to swing without fear on the uneven bars, to do cartwheels on the balance beam, handsprings and walkovers on the mat. I never was able to do a no-handed or aerial cartwheel. But I tried, and I tried. I was persistent, and I got ever closer. In the end, it didn’t matter if I perfected what I did, I was enjoying what I was doing.
Wikipedia describes gymnastics as a sport involving the performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, power, agility, coordination, and balance.
The skills learned on a physical level, are also embodied on a mental level. We come to learn that through persistence, we make progress. Plain and simple. And of course in sports, there is a goal in mind, which is to win; however, the bigger goal is simply to participate, to go out and give it your all, no matter what the outcome.
As an adult, yoga keeps alive for me the same skills as gymnastics. Yet yoga adds one additional layer, that of patience. We learn to be still, when the mind is agitated. Persistence, moving upstream patiently, with the flowing river.
This past week, a number of much needed villa bookings came in. A major food manufacturer tweeted my blog. I’m being profiled as a “feature customer” on a software developers website. These are blessings which are completely out of my control. Except that I’ve been persistent in putting my work out there, honing my craft, not knowing where it would lead. One never knows really, and one has to get used to that. One just has to show up, consistently.
Barbara Rose writes:
“Even the most daring and accomplished people have undergone tremendous difficulty. In fact, the more successful they became, the more they attributed their success to the lessons learned during their most difficult times. Adversity is our teacher. When we view adversity as a guide towards greater inner growth, we will then learn to accept the wisdom our soul came into this life to learn.”
Have a dream you’d like to pursue? Do it with persistence. Don’t give up on your dreams. It’s what makes life worth living ♥
