This month’s Soul Matters theme is Perseverance, or “What does it mean to be a people of perseverance?”
When we think of persevering, we think of sticking with something, even when we want to quit or put it off, or after we have failed to hold to our good intent, or when we despair that we are not making the difference we hoped for. Perseverance can sound heavy and hard, but the Soul Matters opening essay takes a different approach; perhaps in order to sustain ourselves for the long haul that living fully requires, we must also know when to back off, look around, notice beauty, laugh, celebrate, connect with those who support us so that we might touch the deeper wells of what feeds us and return to that within which we hope to persevere.
Perhaps it is just a matter of coincidence that this week while carrying around the notion of perseverance in my thoughts, I visited two homes where a Brother Sun CD played the song, “Love is the Water that Wears Down the Rock.” “Love is the power that can’t be stopped.”
Here’s a quote that echoes a similar thought with a very different metaphor. It made me smile when I read it and now I carry it in my thoughts too. Because of the formatting, it sat all by itself at the top of the page with nothing else around. There was nothing to skim to. So I read slowly and paused be
tween each line. I didn’t do that intentionally. I just got lucky and ended up savoring it a little. The timing gave each line more meaning, like a joke well told. And the last line, the author’s name, made it profound.
If you think you are too small to make a difference,
Try sleeping with a mosquito.
— The Dalai Lama
I love it. I hope it makes you smile and think too.
Another point the Soul Matters materials make is that Perseverance is not something we should just think about doing alone; “It is not a solo act.” We are more likely to persevere toward our goals if we get support from those who care about us.
Yes, we hear often how we are called to
“Offer one another courage, strength,
Healing, hope
And this promise to
Persist in kindness,
Persevere in compassion
And
Prevail in a life that is for more than ourselves.”
But we need to be reminded that we are called to ask for help so that we might keep going too.
Rabbi David Wolf tells a story that we all should carry with us this month:
A boy and his father were walking along a road when they came across a large stone. “Do you think if I use all of my strength, I can move this rock?” the child asked. His father answered, “If you use all of your strength, I am sure you can do it.”
The boy began to push the rock. Exerting himself as much as he could, he pushed and pushed. The rock did not move. Discouraged, he said to his father, “You were wrong. I can’t do it.”
His father put his arm around the boy’s shoulder and said, “No son. You didn’t use all your strength – you didn’t ask me to help.”
What a gift to remember that perseverance isn’t a solo act. May that be the gift this month gives us all.
The Calendar Connections for February highlight many stories and examples of perseverance; the Jewish holiday of Purim, the beginning of Lent, Freedom to Marry day among others. February is African American History month. And of course, we should remember February 14th. Happy Valentine’s Day.
“Love is the water that wears down the rock. Love is the power that can’t be stopped.”
Rev. Jim McKinley, Minister
