difficult times | Words For Hire

“Oh there been times that I couldn’t last for long

But now I think I’m able to carry on

It’s been a long, a long time coming

But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will”

–Lyrics from A Change is Gonna Come, Sam Cooke

I no longer care about rules. Challenge has a way of breaking you free from the self-imposed prison of expectations and lately I have had my share of challenges. In recent weeks, I have been brought to my knees in ways I never thought possible. It seemed to start with a small rumble, no real damage done just a little shaking but progressed to the walls crumbling in on me. And it is there that I have knelt in the rubble fighting to hold on with every fiber of my being. I am not writing this post from a place of self-pity and my purpose is not to whine about life. Yes, I know it’s a business blog and I should be sharing useful information or cheering you on with inspiration but all of that is meaningless if I am not honest enough to say “Sometimes life is hard.”

I understand intimately how chirpy platitudes can cause your teeth to grate when you are in the midst of a struggle. You want and need something more than an ancient quote or a pep talk. I get it. The other day I read one of those syrupy goodness updates and had the urge to throw my keyboard through a window.

Yet, I am also aware that the right word at the right time can lift a downtrodden head and give you the courage to hold on for a just a while longer. I have not lost my faith or optimism, in fact without them I would have been done in long ago. I just want you to know that we all struggle but it is not forever. I have had days where I fell to my knees with big fat crocodile tears rolling from my eyes but the tears soon dry and I get up and get back in the fight, and you can too.

This post is not for everyone and some of you will think I’ve lost my head. Today this may be for one person who is struggling and wondering if it will ever end. Yes, it will. I am not through with the present battle but I have lived long enough to know that this too shall pass. Sometimes it matters more how you go through the challenge than what is on the other side. Most importantly, know that you are not alone. We have all been there or will be there.

Image by Swamibu via Flickr

Written by Karen D. Swim

I awakened this morning to darkness. Momentarily confused without the morning light to guide me, I got up and padded to the window. I peered out into the darkness silently willing the dawn to break. I gave thanks for the day as I carefully stepped through the darkened house to prepare for the day. I stopped for a moment to breathe in the peaceful stillness. I wanted to hold on to that feeling of calm serenity for as long as possible.

A few short hours later that peace was challenged as I read about the man who hung an effigy of US Presidential candidate, Barack Obama from his front yard lynching tree, the newscaster beaten in her home, and the mother gunned down while walking her daughter to school. My heart lurched and I clutched that peace close as I prayed for those with such hatred in their heart. As I wondered about the state of our world and what I could do to make a difference, I stumbled across this poem.

O Me! O Life! —by Walt Whitman

“O Me! O life!… of the questions of these recurring;
Of the endless trains of the faithless—of cities fill’d with the foolish;
Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?)
Of eyes that vainly crave the light—of the objects mean—of the struggle ever renew’d;
Of the poor results of all—of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me;
Of the empty and useless years of the rest—with the rest me intertwined;
The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life?

Answer.

That you are here—that life exists, and identity;
That the powerful play goes on, and you will contribute a verse.”

My heart regained hope as I clung to the answer – I am here and I can contribute a verse. In this world filled with negativity, I can write words that inspire and uplift. In my encounters with people today, I can allow my smile and cheery greeting to be a love song. I can listen to those forgotten, hug those in need of affection, speak up on behalf of injustice, offer water to the thirsty. I am here and I can contribute a verse.

How are you feeling today? What verse will you write?

Hard but Not Forever

A Verse of Hope