Much of the work in this world is done by those who had good reasons to give up, but didn’t.
Michelangelo ascended a scaffold 68 feet high and worked day after day, from first light until dark, painting the 343 figures and 10,000 square feet that would make of the Sistine Chapel an enduring world masterpiece. His arms and neck ached after four years of reaching and stretching and craning his head. His eyes blurred from dripping paint. By the time he was finished he was “exhausted, emaciated, [and] prematurely old.”1 But he endured.
In 1775, when the British army marched on Concord and Lexington, Massachusetts farmer Samuel Whittemore was close to 80 years old. But to him, that was no reason not to get involved. So he packed up a rifle, two pistols, and a saber and joined the fight. Although he was wounded 14 times, Samuel survived and lived another 18 years. He endured.
When Marie Curie’s husband died suddenly in an accident, she was devastated. But instead of becoming paralyzed by her sorrow, she devoted herself to her work—the study of radioactive elements. Later in life, Marie suffered the painful effects of her exposure to radiation, but still she continued. Twice she was awarded the Nobel Prize for physics. She endured.
It’s easy to find reasons to give up or even not to try. We all have worries, fears, and weaknesses. Most experience physical pain of one kind or another. But whenever we are tempted to give up, it may be helpful to remember that problems and limitations need not stand in the way of accomplishment, large or small. We can all contribute, regardless of our circumstances. And so we endure.
1 Will Durant, The Renaissance: A History of Civilization in Italy from 1304–1576 a.d. (1953), 474.
Program #4120