Don’t quit before the miracle happens..

A study of people who do extraordinary things reveals that they walked the high wire in whatever field they chose; they took risks without looking down at danger. They saw error not as failure but in terms of growth and development. Karl Wallenda, the great tight-rope aerialist once said: “The only time I feel truly alive is when I walk the tight rope.”
Wallenda fell to his death in 1978 in San Juan, Purto Rico, while walking on a 75 foot high tight rope. His wife who was also an aerialist recalled, “Ali Kari thought about for 3 months prior to the tragedy, was ‘falling’. He put all his energy into ‘not falling’ and not walking the tight rope. Wallenda went on to personally superwise the installation of the tight rope making certain that the wires are secure, something he never did before”.
Once while attending an educational seminar come group discussion; I was asked about the hardest decision I had to make in my life till date. I replied that there are no soft decisions in life. All decisions are hard and there is a strong likelihood of failure. One can do only his best of his ability. Worry puts obstacles in the way of clear thinking. Concentrate on victory and not failure because failure has finality and setbacks has possibilities of success in future.
I have this friend of mine whose father is an Architect who said that whenever he tried to influence his expert team in creative designing, it ended in failure. When they were left to their originality and creativity, they produced amazing results. Merely saying, “can’t we do this a little better?” inspires them to rise to the occasion. Great people are like Zen Archer who develops his skills to the point where the desire to hit the target becomes secondary. The archer, bow, arrow, and target become indivisible components of the same process.
Following the ‘blessed impulse’, ‘inner voice’, ‘hunch’ or ‘instinct’ has some divinity in it, because mostly action taken on them becomes right. While in the school, one of my friend was given a part in a drama where she had to cry and she did not know how to do it? The Director said, “Think of a tragedy in your own life and you will get the tears.” She recalled the death of her grandfather, who was very close to her, used to tell her stories, encourage her in her studies and suddenly one day he was no more. The memory brought copious tears in her eyes and it was an effort to stop her crying. We can all do that, because it is the inner emotion locked up that is being released first in a trickle and later in a flood.
Henry James who wrote marvelous Novels wrote in his notebook: “I have only to let myself go. I am in full possession of accumulated resources and I have only to use them to insist, to persist, to do something much more than what I have done. The formula is to try everything, do everything, render everything and the results have to come because there is no other alternative.”
All great achievements require time and tenacity. The last key in the key ring may be the one that opens the door. Hanging on one second longer than giving up could make you a winner. Many people fail in life because they believe in the saying: “ If you don’t succeed, try something else.” Very often, when people stick to what they think is right ultimately bring the desired results. Think of Tyagaraja the great composer of Carnatic music, whose 5 famous compositions took long years to compose and ultimately became famous known as Pancharatnaas. The route to success is always long and crooked!
Bessie Anderson wrote in the book ‘A philosophy for living’, “To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and earn the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a little better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even a life has breathed easier because you have lived is to have succeeded.”
Life is a gift. What are you going to do with it? You can stuff food, drink and ruin yourself. Life is given not to amuse yourself or run around asking what next? Life is given to make the world a better place to live. It is not what you possess in life that gives you worth, but what you share or pass on to others. So folks….the quest is not to leave your mark but to have done good work, the best you could do. That would be meaningful and purposeful way of living!