“Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.” -Dante Alighieri, Inferno, the first part of his epic poem, The Divine Comedy
“You know when you’re walking in the woods on a dark night…and you see a light shining far off in the distance…and you think to yourself: even though I’m tired and it’s dark and the branches are scratching my face…everything is gonna be okay…because I have that light? And I’ll get there eventually? Well, I work–you know this–I work harder than anyone else in this county. I mean, I’m beaten down, Sonya, I suffer unbearably…but I have no light in the distance. I can’t see anything up ahead. I no longer expect anything of myself and I don’t think I’m capable of really loving people.” -Astrov to Sonya in Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov (translated by Annie Baker)
No trophy, no flowers, no flashbulbs, no wine
He’s haunted by something he cannot define
Bowel-shaking earthquakes of doubt and remorse
Assail him, impale him with monster truck force
In his mind, he’s still driving, still making the grade -Cake, song “The Distance”
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders…And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” -Hebrews 12:1
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’ -from the poem, “If” by Rudyard Kipling
Feelings like inspiration, enthusiasm and excitement are enough to get you to the starting line.
Deliberate practices like organization, consistency, discipline, commitment, and self care, coupled with trusted friends and a supportive community, are what sustain you during the race.
But even then, with all that, there are still times when you succumb to despair. When you have no hope. When you see no light in the distance.
For those times, it is blind faith and belief in yourself that will get you to the finish line.
Hold On!
You will get through it.
The Vs. Studio Blog 