I started a recent day with my Twitter feed seemingly in a collective cry of agony. One young lady wasn’t sure she still wanted to live – convinced she was a burden. Another mother felt lost because of a difficult diagnosis for her child. A third couldn’t celebrate her birthday because of the plight of her father. That was in the first two pages of my feed.
I completely understand their feelings. I’ve been in many similar places myself, unable to adjust to shocking new circumstances, believing like my life has no meaning. I often have those feelings when I read the wonderful work of my brethren in the #WritingCommunity and am convinced that my work couldn’t possibly measure up to theirs.
And then I remember…no one has the voice that I do*. I have a lot to say, for no other reason except to make my mind still by getting it out. I have to remember that other’s opinions of my work are ultimately unimportant – I’m doing this for myself. With these thoughts, I gradually climb out of my self-made pit, and my continued production makes the pits shallower, fortunately. I am grateful that I have outlets for this.
I also remember the thoughts of one of my virtual mentors, Kwai Chang Caine in the old TV show “Kung Fu.” In the pilot episode, he joins a group of Chinese railroad workers in 1880s America who are going through many trials and tribulations. Someone asks his opinion on what they should do, and he simply said, “Wait.”
Tough times try the patience of all of us, but patience is precisely what is needed in tough times. The belief that things will get better in the future is the one thing that gets us all out of bed in the morning, and it’s important to remember that things WILL get better if we have the patience to wait for them to happen.
Tough times don’t last, but tough people do…
*That is its own issue, but I don’t have room to start that discussion here…maybe later…