“Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects of you.
Never excuse yourself.
Never pity yourself.
Be a hard master to yourself-and be lenient to everybody else.”
― Henry Ward Beecher
(a cut sunflower / Julie Cook / 2016)
Some of us are…
And some of us are not…
What is it that makes us resilient to this thing we call life?
That uncanny ability to hold up and even withstand the often excessive plummeting experienced throughout this journey of living?
For some of us it seems to be a hidden innate, hardwired mechanism comprised of moxie, hutzpah, determination and an odd aligning of the universe producing pure stupid luck.
It is the ability to go on and on despite the assault of physical, mental, emotional and even spiritual forces.
For so many of us, it is life’s cruel and unkind events that render us senseless, dropping us to our knees…
Yet for a few seemingly invincible souls, it matters not the hardship, the heartache, the exhaustion of mind, body and soul—these are the able bodied souls who can take a licking of insurmountable proportion and keep on ticking….
Those who have survived kidnappings, beatings, rapes, tortures, years in death camps, the loss of limbs, excruciating illness and even the tragic separation from loved ones…
those who have witnessed atrocities unbearable to most human beings…
And yet these hardy souls, for good or bad, muster on…
often time not merely surviving, but actually thriving…
Have they been gifted…
or perhaps even cursed?
Are they stronger than the average person?
Are they immune from resulting miseries?
Or is there a subconscious awareness…
a drawing down into a place a great depth that reaches farther and wider….
touching upon that deeply buried remnant piece of the Divine…
The righteous keep moving forward,
and those with clean hands become stronger and stronger.
Job 17:9
cookiecrumbstoliveby 
Good word, as always Julie.
Have a great day in The Lord today!
Thank you Wally 🙂
Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging.
Encouraging words.
Reblogged this on The Lions Den and commented:
Here’s more than cookiecrumbs. Love the contrast of the withered flower, this thing called ‘life,’ and the idea of not only surviving, but thriving in the face of adversity.
She ends with the thought of that buried remnant piece…….of the divine. Pop over and say hey to Julie.
Very nice post. Resilience is a learned skill and a trait much needed in life. I appreciated your words. Beecher was a real piece of work, but some of his words were right on mark. Thank you.
-kia
thank you for your thoughtful comments—
I enjoy the quotes, but I would be careful with where they come from. I’d never quote from someone so unseemly no matter how helpful or on target their words were. Just me.
I tend to agree–but I have been known to quote a few unsavories such as Dickens and and even Oscar Wilde—
I once wrote about one of my favorite artists–the Italian artist Caravaggio—Caravaggio lived quite the life of scalawag and scoundrel–rough neck and hooligan but a brilliant artist.
There are several of his pieces—the Road to Damascus being one, that has always been a favorite of mine—he captures so beautifully yet hauntingly the moment Paul is knocked blind from his horse…
many a believer and even non believer has been moved upon viewing such pieces—especially up close and personal should the visit to the appropriate museum be on ones path…
Upon seeing such, one would initially think that such work had to be done by an ardent believer…a true defender of the faith….yet that is the furtherest from the fact…
Yet I cannot help to think that those who possess such skill and talent—who choose both sacred and profane for subject—did indeed touch upon the spiritual seed planted deep within—
As a lifelong educator—I told kids who came to my classes confessing (or complaining) to have nary a lick of skill or talent, not knowing how in the world or why in the world, they wound up in a class such as mine—I told them that there were two types of people—those who had “God given talent”, meaning they were simply born with a “gift” or knack—and then there were the rest of us—those who had to learn the tricks and practice…
I believe we are all gifted my friend—yet some of us run from the gifts while other run to…
Blessing for a peaceful afternoon—
Stay hungry for answers. You really do write well.
Just read the rest of the wiki piece on him. Quite a complicated guy. Doubted the existence of hell, believed in Darwinian evolution, preached the supremacy of God’s love over threats of punishment for sin… you may want to read up on him. Fascinating stuff.
thank you—love the learning…
Ah, this was just delightful, “Or is there a subconscious awareness…
a drawing down into a place a great depth that reaches farther and wider….
touching upon that deeply buried remnant piece of the Divine…”
We don’t make it this far along in life without being resilient! Another wonderful post, oh venerable batbuster! 🙂 ❤
Ha! He hasn’t been back 👀
Oh good, I’m glad. I hope he stays away! 🙂 ❤