Stay Strong
By Wes Annac, Editor, Culture of Awareness & Openhearted Rebel
“The people who [are] trying to make this world worse are not taking the day off. Why should I?” – Bob Marley
To say life is hard is an understatement. We’re often hit with unexpected challenges or circumstances that make us want to hide away from the world. But we can’t, and in my opinion, we shouldn’t.
If you pursue a life of purpose, there will come a point when you feel exhausted, discouraged, and ready to give up. The hard work won’t be worth what you seem to get out of it, and you’ll want more than anything to relax, take a big long break, and forget about all the stress. This is understandable, and downtime is necessary if you don’t want to burn out.
However, in a time when the ruling elite rely more than ever on the masses’ apathy and reluctance to take a stand for what’s right, we can’t give in, back down, or let the world stop us from pursuing work that can help mankind.
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Somehow, we must tap into a transcendent sense of strength that helps us through our challenges and inspires us to push forward to matter how much the world pushes us back.
A Basic Understanding
It’s fair to say people of every race, culture, and belief system (or lack thereof) are aware the world is not the way it should be. They possess a basic understanding that we can live in a much better world if we put in the work to make it so. This can not only bring us together with the common goal of promoting a world built on individuality and freedom of expression, but give us the strength to persevere when the world responds brutally to our attempts at freedom.
Standing up for justice and a fair world will come with endless obstacles, setbacks, and resistance from society. It’s a much harder path people don’t usually follow, and while it can lead to extraordinary achievements for the world and the freedom you fight for, it can feel like a constant uphill battle. You’ll know it’s worth the struggle, but if your heart’s not in it, you’ll see no results and feel no fulfillment.
Keep Going; It Will Pay Off
Most people don’t like to hear this, but the moment you want to give up is the most important time to keep going. This is usually a sign you’re about to take the next big step, but only if you keep moving forward.
No matter how long, slow, or grueling it is, your hard work will pay off. If you put in long hours for a cause you believe in and refuse to give up on, results will come naturally. You might not see any results in sight during the uphill climb, but once you’re there, you can look back on achievements you wouldn’t have made if you gave up halfway through.
If you have a passion and a purpose, putting in long hours is unavoidable. You can’t dodge the strain and struggle that’ll come with it, but you can approach it with the love that made you want to pursue it in the first place. I’d like to write that the struggle won’t seem so bad once you do, but again, this kind of life will come with challenges regardless. This, among other reasons, is why you’re likely to fail or give up if you don’t love it.
A Sense of Meaning
Approaching your life with passion and love for what you do will fill the hard work and long hours with a sense of meaning that will permeate the work itself. If activism is your passion, for example, the pain and struggle will be worth it because you’ll believe in what you do.
The water protectors at Standing Rock have proven you can achieve victory if you endure, and they’ve had to endure a lot of abuse. Pepper spray, rubber bullets, freezing water, and concussion grenades could make anyone back down, but they refused to give in and won as a result.
Your purpose might not be as intense as standing up for the environment or millions of people’s drinking water, but regardless, you’ll go through your fair share of struggle. Keeping at it every day and trying to improve a little each day could become tiring and discouraging, but if you push through, you will see results.
Do What You Love
In a world that discourages true freedom, we should not only do what we love, but take a stand for the rights of billions of people being “governed” by a small yet rich and powerful portion of the population.
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If you’re unable to do what you love for a living, I recommend pursuing it in your free time and using it to make the world better in some way. Show this society you won’t tolerate a passionless life, and step outside your comfort zone to discover the boundless world that awaits.
There’s an old cliché that says you can achieve anything you put your mind to, and while this is correct, it fails to mention the importance of persevering when it stops being easy. The point of a life of purpose, and the point of life in general, is to challenge you and help you grow to new heights. No matter what your passion is, it will do this for you if you keep your love for it intact.
We need passionate people promoting change and a new vision for the world, so for those pursuing a purpose through independent living: don’t stop now. Don’t stop pursuing it, loving it, or using it to help people. The world has yet to see what you can really do.
This article appeared first at Culture of Awareness and appears here courtesy of Wes Annac.
About the author:
I’m a twenty-something writer & blogger with an interest in spirituality, revolution, music and the transformative creative force known as love. I run The Culture of Awareness, a daily news blog dedicated to raising social and spiritual awareness and supporting the evolution of the planet.
I also have a personal blog, Openhearted Rebel, in which I share writings related to spiritual philosophy, creativity, heart consciousness and revolution (among other topics).
I write from the heart and try to share informative and enlightening reading material with the rest of the conscious community. When I’m not writing or exploring nature, I’m usually making music.
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