Journal of Sacred Work

Note: Today’s Meditation is written and edited by Catherine Self
based on the writings of Erie Chapman (in quotes) on High Purpose Leadership
and her own reflections.

The heights by great
men reached and kept
Were not attained by
sudden flight,
But they, while their
companions slept,
Were toiling upward in
the night.      
                 – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 In living a life of high purpose, persistence is a matter of
principle. Yet, “the challenge of
persistence calls on us to learn who we
really are. What do we stand for when the ground beneath us is shaking? Where
is our strength when the winds of fear tear at our confidence? It is easy to
act strong when skies are blue and to preach persistence in smooth seas. But,
do we, like the great Winston Churchill (photo) stay the course when storms send black waves crashing across our bow?”…

   “Passionate commitment pulls our potential and awakens our
persistence. This expression of persistence is sometimes called courage,
sometimes called character, sometimes duty, sometimes stubbornness, sometimes
foolishness, sometimes loyalty, but it always, always wears the face of determination…” even while companions
sleep.
    I’ve shared a bit of my son Matthew with you in previous
writings. He comes to mind again as I write these words. You see, persistence
was an early choice in his life. When others slept or gathered for fun, Matt
ran laps and practiced his pitches. In the dark of early morning, when the cold
wind blew about him like taunting children, the easy choice would have been to
go back to his warm and safe bed. Some called his devotion foolish and
stubborn. He called it persistence, and that choice, those choices he made over and over again, paid off later as offers
came to play at the collegiate level.
    On a much grander scale there is the story of another who
also made difficult choices. “Some would say that the democratic freedom we
have enjoyed in the last half of the twentieth century is due in many ways to
the sparking persistence of the greatest leader of World War II, the former
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Churchill understood the threat of
Hitler’s regime, and
refused to stay quiet. He was branded as crazy and
paranoid, but he persisted. He had to wait a long time for his chance to lead
his country, and by the time he was called upon, his country stood completely
alone against the conquering hoards of Hitler’s Nazis. America had not
yet joined the war. Night after night London
suffered the blows of devastating bombs. Most of the English Commonwealth was ready to surrender.
   “And, yet, Churchill persisted in the face of the enemy,
saying to those who would hear: Let us
therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand
years, men will say this was their
finest hour.
    “Personal commitment without persistence is an empty
promise. Passion without persistence is just infatuation. Potential without
persistence is gold never used. All of these, including persistence itself,
thrive under the bright beacon of high purpose and the grace of a life lived
with deep meaning.” However, persistence is a choice!
    “We are never forced
to stay strong, nor are we ever required
to choose persistence. The fact is, we can give up any time. The great prime
minister of Great Britain
didn’t have to choose persistence just like Martin Luther King didn’t have to
choose passion. Mother Theresa didn’t have to pledge personal commitment just
like Gandhi didn’t have to find and use his best potential.”      
   “Persistence is always
an everyday life choice. And, by definition, it will always appear to be
the hardest choice of al. Personal commitment and passion and potential mean
nothing unless we are willing to be persistent. Most people give up too easily.
They never commit, never find their passion, never live their potential. If
they find these things, they will surely
fail unless they tap into the sacred fuel of persistence.”
    Churchill understood the power of language. What words will
we use “to awaken persistence when the souls around us are ready to surrender?
What is our ability to motivate when people around us believe their lives are
nothing but a humdrum march from birth to death?” Will we dare to speak of
Love? Will we dare to persist against all odds? Those who need us most are
depending on it.

“Persistence is the
power that causes us to hang in there even when we may, momentarily, have   forgotten the reason that we should.”           –Erie Chapman 

Today’s video: If you want to hear what the voice of persistence sounds like, listen to this  60 second clip of Churchill from one of his greatest speeches: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0JsPXg-e1s