Tales of the tough..

When the road gets tough, the tough get going. Or not. Sometimes the tough get hungry and they lose their direction. Sometimes,their shoes get bad, and the sand gets too hot to tackle barefoot. Sometimes, the tough get tired. Sometimes, when the road gets tough, the tough stop. They sit, they get depressed, they cry.  

Sometimes the tough look around and all they see is darkness, all they hear is silence,all they feel is fear. But, here’s the beautiful thing about the tough, they know, like Ernest Hemingway said “man is not made for defeat. He can be destroyed, yes. But not defeated “. This is the creed the tough live by. 

So, yes, you are entitled to feeling pain, to getting tired, feeling confused, to failing even. But you are not entitled to staying there. It’s not your calling. Here’s another wonderful thing, there’s always light. For as long as you have your sight, as long as your heart keeps beating, you have light. The light is your eyes, the light is your heart, the light is you. 

Life won’t throw lemons at you, she’s not a farmer, she’s the farm. Life will throw bucket loads of shitty stuff. Unexpectedly. You flush it down the toilet, or dig the ground and bury it and plant on it. Natural fertilizer, courtsey, life. And then you move on. You plug in your headphones, you write, you cook, you do whatever makes you happy.  And you move on, you live. That’s all you need to sign up for the tough club. That’s all it takes to be tough. Continuity, perseverance, persistence. Have that, you have all. 

Being tough doesn’t mean you win all the time. It means you lose a lot and never give up. Like Thomas Edison, who failed about 10,000 times and created the light bulb the 10,001 time( I don’t know how to write that in words ).It means life knocks you down, and breaks your bones and you see it as a training session. It means you take another step, everyday despite the pain. That’s tough. The ability to never give in, to the weights that threaten to drown you. That’s tough. 

So be like the tough. The only thing that separates the tough from the weak is perception. Where the weak sees stormy seas to drown them, the tough sees waves to ride. The road gets tough either way, whether you are tough or not. So try, try like the tough. Every waking moment, is another opportunity. Sit, contemplate, cry, but don’t sit too long. Don’t let the sun go down with you still sitting. 

And the tale of the tough continues thus: they grab a bite to eat, mend their shoes, retrace their steps. They wipe their eyes, dust themselves off, smile and keep walking. They know that the open wounds on their skin are entrances for light,for healing. The tough get going. The tough moves, faster, with stealth and great courage. The tough becomes tougher. The tough out-toughs the road. The tough becomes the road. 

Photo credit : google. 

Special shout out to Mercy Obosi. Everyone one needs a someone like you. Thank you so much.