CHANGING THE STARS- PERSEVERANCE

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perseverance

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I write because I enjoy it. When I can relate in words to others it brings me gratification. Like many labors of love, the payoff is worth the struggle.

Sometimes when I write, the words get pushed out of the pen similar to pushing a rope uphill. Other times the words flow from the end of my pen like water from a faucet.

A blank page and thoughts are simple things that everyone has. What a person does with their thoughts and a blank page can be magical. The world of words is like most everything else in life, it’s crowded. There are far more books written per year than get published every year.

There are scads of wildly gifted writers who’s work will never see the light of day. My guess is also like everything else in life, being gifted will get a person almost zero.

There was an old saying that went something like this. “That and 25 cents will get you a cup of coffee.” In other words only the 25 cents will get you a cup of coffee. The gift, idea, or purpose is worthless by itself. 25 cents won’t buy you a cup of Joe anymore, but the gifts or ideas still have the same value. Even after adjustment for inflation today as compared to the old days it still has the same value all by itself… NADA!

What’s more important than the gift itself? I’m glad you asked that to yourself. The answer is perseverance, of course!

It doesn’t matter what the dream is, or when it is, without perseverance it’s probably not going to happen.

Like the journeyman in any craft, time and  experience are crucial for success. Even more deciding between the journeyman with the same amount of experience would be desire. The love of the trade or craft.

I enjoyed the movie “A Knights Tale,” starring the late Heath Ledger. It was a story about a peasant who worked hard to hone the gift of Jousting into an art, a trade restricted to only Noblemen. The character William was sent away by his father to apprentice as a helper to a Noblemen. His dad sent him off into life as just a lad. As William was disappearing into the fog his dad shouted after him. “CHANGE YOUR STARS WILLIAM”!

When it was discovered the new challenger to the champion, William was not of noble but of peasant ancestry, he had a chance to run in order to save his life. He chose to stay and face imprisonment because he knew in his heart, and said at this point in the story, “I AM A KNIGHT”!

Even though this is a fiction story, that is a truth of this life. One must believe in their heart in themselves and be willing to bust their butt to prove to the world what they know of themselves.

When a person sets their sights on “Changing Their Stars,” they come in conflict with the rest of the world. Whatever it is we’re trying to change there will be forces trying to prevent it. Similar to our story, so it is with the story of real life.

The Noble’s don’t want any more competition. They want to keep their small world unchanged. The door to the their exclusive Country Club is not open with a tidy welcome mat adorning the threshold for anyone other than their contemporaries.

Likewise, the masses of our peers want to keep the rest of us equal with them. They don’t want to see someone “Change Their Stars,” misery loves company. The masses have settled for a less than gratified life and don’t want to see anyone else gain one.

For anyone who has broken through the barriers to “Change Their Stars,” my hats off to them.

If someone has changed their stars due to a gift from God and have coupled that gift with perseverance and desire to accomplish it, I say, “Good Deal”! That means it can happen again, it’s not impossible.

I’d be disappointed in myself if I died not trying, that’s for the masses.

The truth is I just need to keep doing what I love. Isn’t that the true definition of success?

Recognized for it or not, I write because I enjoy it…