When Cassandra and I had arranged to meet up to watch the sun go down at Picnic Island, we did so without any real knowledge on whether anything of substance might happen.
Furthermore, for me at least, it was following on the heels of three prior failures. So, other than good company for whatever the moment might bring, my expectations were nil.
We met down there last night and for the first half hour, there was truly little to forewarn us of the colors to which we were about to be treated.
In all honesty, it didn’t really matter to either of us as we were busy regaling each other with stories since we had last met. So rain or shine the evening was bound to be a good one.
I have long since noticed about cats that when you want them to do something specific, they go out of their way not to. And when you really aren’t bothered or paying attention, that’s when they do it.
So, I have arrived at the conclusion after last night, that Mother Nature is actually a cat. Because while I wasn’t so very bothered, she put on a wonderful show of reds, oranges, and yellows that lit up the evening sky across Tampa Bay.
While she wasn’t looking, I took a few shots and they are at the end of this blog … hope you enjoy.
Last night as I drove home, confident that the camera had captured much of the moment, I had a sense of happiness that was as much about having prevailed in bearing witness to a good sunset, as to the sunset itself.
The old adage of “never, never give up” rang around in my head and it is really that notion that I awoke with this morning as I assembled my blog thoughts.
There are many times that life finds a way to make our best efforts come up shy. At times it might feel that we have done everything right, followed all the signs, and still fail to hit whatever our objective was.
The story often told of Robert the Bruce (King of Scotland) gaining inspiration to try again against the English armies, hinged on the spider in the cave. She had failed six times to cast a thread of her web from one side to the other. But her seventh attempt succeeded and so he decided to once again rally his forces against England into what ultimately became a victorious battle.
There are countless indications all around us of multiple failures eventually being overcome by perseverance and determination. Rarely is success achieved in the first instance and while the weak give up and travel a different road, there are others who are willing to give it yet another try.
There is no magic number of attempts either that guarantees success. You can flip a coin a hundred times and there is still no guarantee that you will get a head.
So, determination to succeed must be matched by a willingness to experience multiple failures. Some failures we will learn from. Others are merely bruises that our ego will carry.
The most successful among us appear at the winning line battered and bruised.
When success comes easy, there is little really to be proud of. Real pride comes in having overcome difficulties or limitations and somehow persevered.
In fact, determination itself is a trait that comes from negative experiences. It forms around the skeleton of prior failures and equips us better to handle our next attempt.
So, not everyone has determination. The wealthy, the privileged … they tend to lack the trait as life’s doors repeatedly open for them.
But the rest of us have to open our own doors and it is most often determination that strengthens our grip on the handle.
So, I guess my message here is really quite simple … just keep on trying and take each failure as simply a statement of being one step closer to success.
… just a thought.
