What would I do without Michael Wade's
Execupundit blog to cull thought-provoking material for me to consider and share? Today he pointed me to a poignant essay by author Mark Stevens, entitled,
The 
Sun Never Shines At Night - The Moon Never Cries In The Morning. Please do yourself a favor and read
this inspirational piece.
My favorite excerpt is this:
"Probably the truest axiom is that the secret to life is enjoying the passage of time. That’s all you need to do… and it is endlessly wonderful. Because when the business dies, you can form another. When the job turns into a drudge, you can walk across the street. When the strategy or the campaign fails-and ultimately it will-you can rethink it and raise the curtain on ACT II."
Reading these wise words reminds me that everything has a life span, every task, accomplishment, indeed, every living thing. It is the way of the world. To expect things, feelings or people not to follow the laws of nature is unrealistic. It is a sure way to sabotage yourself from living life to the fullest. You're not going to get ahead by digging your heels into the pavement. Nothing can be gained from resenting the fact that everything has a beginning, middle and an end, and it's not for us to determine what that is. To quote the sage words of the Byrds,
"To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven..." Come to think of it, someone else may have said that first...(I'll look into that and get back to you...)
Instead of feeling devastated when things reach their logical conclusion, recognize it as an opportunity to begin the next phase. I can see that as a path to personal growth as well as to success in business. I guess it's like the saying "When God closes a door, He opens a window." You just have to have the fortitude to search for the window without lying down and dying in disappointment and despair.
Mr. Stevens writes,
"We all have to live knowing that there is so much we do not and cannot understand. The trick is never to let that mystery hold us hostage. Or stop us from taking risk." I can see how the concept that "all things must pass" could make a person afraid to begin the journey. But do I really want to forego the experiences that I can have, the knowledge I can glean and the people I can know just because I can't read the last page of the book? That would be the biggest regret I can imagine looking back from the end of my life...
Finally, Mr Stevens hits me with this question,
"Tell me what in your life, your work, have you forgotten has a trajectory?" That question is a challenge to me to keep a healthy perspective on things in my life...The problems that may plague me today will eventually end, so why let them devastate my 'now'? I must remember to appreciate the parts of my life that are great; be sure not to take a moment of the good for granted, because that too will end. Most importantly, to never say die...
"pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start all over again..." Because, what I have is my life - long or short -and it's up to me to live it to the fullest, in fearless harmony.
