Keep Going…

I recently read Keep Going: The Art of Perseverance by John Marshall III.  Marshall is a writer of the Lakota tradition. 

This book could not have appeared at a better time in my life.  Marshall does an outstanding job of making it clear that life is not fair.  You can hope for the “good stuff” – happiness, health, employment, healthy children and parents, yet we all are eventually confronted with the labors and difficulties part and parcel of living.  The simple phrase, “Keep Going” is amantra when things are difficult.  That’s it – Keep Going. 

The timing for this book’s appearance in my life could not have been more relevant, as I recently entered some difficult situations in my life – my father lost his job, my friend’s father died, and my husband seemed to remain in love with the idea that despite the fact I did not bear his children, I would have no problem with dedicating my life to raising them, even though he and their mother were fully physically present in their lives.  

            I needed the shift in perspective this book brought, as did my mother.  She was visiting as I read it, and decided to take the copy of the book home with her.  Facing difficult times, we often do not realize our own strengths and powers.  On the surface we may wish we handled things differently or judge ourselves in other ways, yet, we often overlook the beautiful grace and composure that most of us display at these times.  It is amazing what people can “get through”, and not only get through, but find that part within that strengthens themselves and those around them.

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