Day Thirty-Five: perseverance

Word of the Day: perseverance

Image of the Day: book cover image

Token of the Day: woven bookmark

Gail writes: keep going...

Yes, keep on keeping on, stand firm.

Perseverance
gritted teeth
head down
leaning into the howling winds
determined

Must get there
need to be there
blow winds, do your worst
send storm, send snow
send floods full-flow
my sights are set,
my mind made up
my spirit will not wilt.

There is something of stubbornness in the concept of perseverance but somehow i see perseverance as more intelligent, more thought through than mere obstinance. I think of the saints of old, rowing coracles across oceans, battling with dragons, building churches stone by stone. Stubbornness has pride attached to it, perseverance is shrouded in humility. It is both the manner in which the journey or process is undertaken, the spirit in which it is carried out and also the end-point, outcome, result.

So i might be stubborn about certain things such as something being done my way. Where perseverance comes in, i think, is where the "thing" is attached to my vision (see Vision blog entry!). And if i am congruent, discerning, insightful i can let go of my attachment to the precise "how", i can be passionate and yet mindful, enjoying the process and prayerfully working towards the actualisation of my vision.

Then i turn to my laptop to see what others say about perseverance. Dictionaries define it as:

• the steady persistence in adhering to a course of action, a belief, a purpose
• steadfastness
• the Calvinistic doctrine that those who have been chosen by God will continue in a state of grace to the end and will finally be saved
• persevere - to persist in or remain constant to a purpose, idea, or task in the face of obstacles or discouragement.

And the etymology is from the Latin for very severe - per-severus

Henry Ward Beecher put it well when he said:

The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won't.

And what does the Bible say about perseverance? Well there is no shortage of references to it throughout both the Old Testament and the New. Allusions to life as being a race, or series of races towards a goal. We are urged to stand firm in Christ, persevere with faith and victory will be ours. I am uncomfortable with much of the language as it is militaristic, triumphalistic, competitive. I am unconvinced that such a way of being is the way of Jesus.

What does Buddhism say? Well, there are still some references to victory and to wearing perseverance as armour but there is also this:

Self-discipline brings us into relationship with one of the six perfections of the bodhisattva, that of enthusiastic perseverance, which implies the willingness to engage in a process with effort and enthusiasm over a prolonged period. No material or spiritual qualities are gained without some degree of effort. Perseverance enables the practitioner to carry on and trust in the process, even when it feels hopeless. It makes it possible to face difficulties and obstacles in the path with confidence and courage, rather than giving up because it feels too hard. Self-discipline helps us remain in the vessel and not run away. [Rob Preece, The Psychology of Buddhist Tantra]

Jesus persevered. He loved the seemingly unlovable, he spoke peace to war-mongers, simplicity to tax-collectors, and he taught the busy how to sit and be. He persevered all the way to the Cross and beyond it and he perseveres still. The Christ does not give up on us. God does not cast us aside because the task is too difficult.

May i persevere with learning how to live, how to love. I'll end today with some more quotes on the subject. Perhaps one of them will speak to you as it has done to me.

When the world says, "Give up," Hope whispers, "Try it one more time."~Author Unknown

...I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand at the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, "Yes."...~© Oriah Mountain Dreamer, The Invitation, www.oriahmountaindreamer.com

Keep on going, and the chances are that you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it. I never heard of anyone ever stumbling on something sitting down. ~Charles F. Kettering

Saints are sinners who kept on going. ~Robert Louis Stevenson

If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking. ~Buddhist Saying

If one dream should fall and break into a thousand pieces, never be afraid to pick one of those pieces up and begin again. ~Flavia Weedn, Flavia and the Dream Maker, © Flavia.com

Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain. ~Author Unknown

Consider the postage stamp: its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing till it gets there. ~Josh Billings

The greatest oak was once a little nut who held its ground. ~Author Unknown

Fall seven times, stand up eight. ~Japanese Proverb