No 6. Changing Lives through Dancing
By David Earl Woodbury
Friday, February 5, 2016
Miserably Fail or Gloriously Conquer!
“Some day, in years to come, you will be wrestling with the great temptation, or trembling under the great sorrow of your life. But the real struggle is here, now, in these quiet weeks. Now it is being decided whether, in the day of your supreme sorrow or temptation, you shall miserably fail or gloriously conquer. Character cannot be made except by a steady, long continued process.”- Phillips Brooks (1835 – 1893) American Bishop
Well, wouldn’t you just love it if everything always just worked out. If everyone would just agree with you and do it your way. Then everything would just be perfect. We’d have our way all the time, no one would every question us or argue with us and we would always have the final word.
Ok, get a grip. This will never happen. You might be the one in charge, have the original idea, be the butcher, baker, and the candlestick maker, but you will not be immune to change, and even at times failure of your original plans. A Sherpas will tell you that the only way to get to the top of Mt. Everest is to plan on everything that can go wrong to go wrong. The guides always plan on the worst possible of conditions, and even so, many perish on the path to the top.
Getting to the top of your own Mt. Everest may be the most challenging and long continues process of your life. For me, it will be the rest of my life. I’m just not going to retire and sit at home watching TV for the rest of my days. I want to wear out, not rust out. Also, I’ve too much to learn about people and life to stop now. Sometimes I just feel as if I don’t know ANYTHING about life and what to do.
“Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, Or what’s a heaven for?” – Robert Browning
“They are ill discoverers that think there is no land, when they can see nothing but sea.” – Francis Bacon (1561 – 1626) English Philosopher, Lawyer and Politician
I have a detractor in my life who is always saying everything I’m doing is at the wrong time. So frustrating to not have them believe in me. When the heck is the right time to do something? And to my amazement, this person is going along the same, day after day with the same comfort zone as I’m feeling like a ping pong ball in the game of life. I think that today is the right time to get started and to begin living a dream. I outreach my grasp every day. My saving grace is that in my sea of life, I only envision the new land that is ahead for me.
“Who would have ever heard of Theodore Roosevelt outside of his immediate community if he had only half committed himself to what he had undertaken, if he had brought only a part of himself to his task? The great secret of his career has been that he has flung his whole life, not a part of it, with all the determination and energy and power he could muster, into everything he has undertaken. No dillydallying, no faint-hearted efforts, no lukewarm purpose for him!” – Orison Sweet Marden (1850 – 1924) American Editor and Speaker
This quote means everything to me. Daily, I am flinging my whole life with all my determination and energy and power into everything that I am undertaking. It costs me my health, wealth, peace of mind, sleep, friendships, and challenges the very core of my being. But I am not going out with a whimper. I’m moving forward with a shout of triumph. (Listen to Brahms Song of Triumph – this is the sound of what I feel daily!)
With every struggle, I grow stronger. Every challenge, I become a better may. I will not quit. I will not give up. I will achieve my dreams!
Thank you,
David Earl Woodbury
DavidEarlWoodbury@gmail.com (email me if you like this blog)