A Recluse Out of the Hinterlands

We are too young to know that if we hang in there, our troubles, whatever they are, will pass.


Of course, I do not believe that all problems will pass with time. However, one does have a point to think that MOST problems pass with time. It isn't that they simply disappear. It's just that with time, we somehow work them out or situations change in such a way that what was once a problem is no longer.

The ability "to hang in there" is a big "IF". The main reason why people fail to solve their problems is that they give up trying. Difficulties and obstacles have a way of wearing us down. The resistance that arises and blocks our path creates stress and tension that tires even the strongest. There is need to have a very strong character and a gutsy personality to stand up to this kind of pressure over an extended period of time.

However, this ability to continue and not turn back is a condition for success in conquering problems. Without it, one would have to hope that a quick resolution can be found. Now, some difficulties need lots of time and sustained effort. To overcome them, it will be necessary to fight a good battle. These problems just do not allow shortcuts and quick solutions.

It takes a certain degree of maturity to understand this. It calls for a level of understanding that many people have not yet reached. It means making connections. It also is the result of personal observation, a kind of awareness of what reality is all about.

Those who fail to understand that life is carpeted with trials and tribulations of all kinds, get confused when confronted with trouble. They struggle. And when their efforts to extricate themselves do not bear immediate fruit, they get angry. After a while, their anger turns to frustration and a sense of hopelessness. They are like animals in a cage with no way out. Trapped forever in an illusion, a dilemma, a curse.

In reality, there always IS a way out. Hanging in there does not mean to sit and bear the pain. It means making every conceivable effort to find a way out. Most of us wait for someone to come along and make things happen for us. But it's only in us that we could get out of trouble.

That kind of attitude is NOT what I call hanging in there. To hang in there means to bear whatever the suffering while constantly exerting every kind of effort to work out the problem. It means to be tough not only in handling pain and pressure but in working consistwntly under such tension in order to bring about a solution. It means working hard while we struggle.


As long as we breathe, there will be always a tiny thread of hope in us that makes us hang a little longer.