At the heart of the human experience lies a fundamental struggle—the struggle to endure.
From the moment we are thrust into this world, we are engaged in an act of perseverance against the incessant tugs of entropy, loss, and the relentless march of time.
What does it mean to endure?
It is to withstand, remain steadfast, and continue despite weariness and hardship. It is to absorb life's inevitable blows—the disappointments, the grief, and the failures—and keep putting one foot before the other. It is to navigate the ongoing storms of change and upheaval while clinging to one's sense of self, striving to maintain a continuity of being.
Endurance is our daily bread, undergirding each mundane act.
When we wake up and face another day, we endure.
When we toil at work and school, we endure.
When we weather conflict, loss, and physical pain, we endure.
We are survivor beings, persistence machines, marching forth with dogged determination to keep existing, to stretch the impediments of time and decay. But to view endurance only as mere grim perseverance is to miss something profound.
“Strength doesn’t come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t.” Rikki Rogers
Knitted through our struggle to endure is the undeniable creative wellspring of the human spirit.
In our ceaseless continuation lie acts of courage, resilience, defiance, faith, audacity, and hope. Within the bone-deep commitment to keep going glimmers the sheer force of our will to create meaningful lives for ourselves.
The parent who endures sleepless nights, mounting stresses, and intense self-sacrifice for the sake of their child.
The artist endures obscurity, self-doubt, and repeated rejection in pursuit of their vision.
The activist, the seeker of justice, takes on mockery, hostility, and violence in the struggle for change.
These are not just acts of endurance but sublime expressions of the will to sculpt existence into something beautiful despite the odds.
Endurance takes on an almost spiritual dimension when we withstand the slings and arrows for ourselves, others, ideals, and future generations.
We are not simply beasts straining beneath the yoke of circumstances but beings engaged in a transcendent dance with fate and meaning. Persisting, at its most profound, becomes an act of devotion.
So what are we doing if we are not enduring?
We are participating in one of the most elemental and heroic human undertakings.
For in the choice to continue, to push against the grain, to absorb and transform each obstacle, we are fully inhabiting our roles as conscious creators of experience.
Our daily endurance becomes an alchemical forge, where base metal is transmuted into purpose, resilience, and deepened character.
It is the unglamorous day-to-day work of crafting our lives into awe-inspiring testaments to the human spirit.
What if, in persisting and enduring the inevitable slings and arrows, we accomplish something far more consequential—the grand work of manifesting our most profound selves?
It is the most basic and important thing that people have to do. We must keep going, even if it means giving up everything, because our persistence gives our lives direction, creativity, and maybe even transcendence.