Someday.
“Quit! Give up! You’re beaten!”
They shout at me and plead.
“There’s just too much against you now;
This time you can’t succeed!”
And as I start to hang my head
In front of failure’s face,
My downward fall is broken by
The memory of a race.
And hope refills my weakened will
As I recall that scene;
For just the thought of that short race
Rejuventates my being.
A children’s race- young boy, young men,
How I remember well.
Excitement, sure! But also fear;
It wasn’t hard to tell.
They all lined up so full of hope
Each thought to win that race.
Or tie for first, or if not that,
At least take second place.
And fathers watched from off the side
Each cheering for his son.
And each boy hoped to show his dad
That he would be the one.
The whistle blew and off they went
Young hearts and hopes afire.
To win and be the hero there
Was each young boy’s desire.
And one boy in particular,
Whose dad was in the crowd,
Was running near the lead and thought:
“My dad will be so proud!”
But as he speeded down the field
Across a shallow dip.
The little boy who thought to win
Lost his step and slipped.
Trying hard to catch himself
His hands flew out to brace,
And ‘mid the laughter of the crowd
He fell flat on his face.
So down he fell and with him hope—
He couldn’t win it now—
Embarrassed, sad, he only wished
To disappear somehow.
But as he fell his dad stood up
And showed his anxious face,
Which to the boy so clearly said:
“Get up and win the race!”
He quickly rose, no damage done
-Behind a bit, that’s all-
And ran with all his mind and might
To make up for his fall.
So anxious to restore himself
-To catch up and to win-
His mind went faster than his legs;
He slipped and fell again!
He wished then he had quit before
With only one disgrace
“I’m hopeless as a runner now;
I shouldn’t try to race.”
But in the laughing crowd he searched
And found his father’s face;
That steady look which said again:
“Get up and win the race!”
So he jumped up to try again
-Ten yards behind the last-
“If I’m to gain those yards,” he thought,
“I’ve got to move real fast.”
Exerting everything he had
He gained eight or ten,
But trying so hard to catch the lead
He slipped and fell again!
Defeat! He lied there silently
-A tear dropped from his eye-
“There’s no sense in running anymore:
Three strikes: I’m out! Why try?”
The will to rise had disappeared;
All hope had fled away;
So far behind, so error-prone:
A loser all the way.
“I’ve lost, so what’s the use,” he thought
“I’ll live with my disgrace.”
But then he thought about his dad
Who soon he’d have to face.
“Get up,” an echo sounded low.
“Get up and take your place;
You were not meant for failure here.
Get up and win the race.”
“With borrowed will get up,” it said,
You haven’t lost at all.
For winning is no more than this:
To rise each time you fall.”
So up he rose to run once more,
And with new commit
He resolved that win or lose
At least he wouldn’t quit!
So far behind the others now,
-The most he’d ever been-
Still he gave it all he had
And ran as though to win.
Three times he’d fallen, stumbling;
Three times he rose again:
Too far behind to hope to win
He still ran to the end.
They cheered the winning runner
As he crossed the line first place.
Head high, and proud, and happy;
No falling, no disgrace.
But when the fallen youngster
Crossed the line last place,
The crowd gave him the greater cheer,
For finishing the race.
And even though he came in last
With head bowed low, unproud,
You would have thought he’d won the race
To listen to the crowd.
And to his dad he sadly said,
“I didn’t do too well.”
“To me, you won,” his father said.
“You rose each time you fell.”
And when things seem dark and hard
And difficult to face,
The memory of that little boy
Helps me in my race.
For all of life is like that race.
With ups and downs and all.
And all you have to do to win,
Is rise each time you fall.
“Quit! Give up, you’re beaten!”
They still shout in my face.
But another voice within me says:
“GET UP AND WIN THE RACE!”
The worst feeling wasn’t brushing myself off, having to listen to spiteful words, or facing what waits me at the end…it was the moments lying in the dirt, mud caking where my tears flowed, not knowing what to do next or wondering if I even cared about my future enough to worry about it.
The Light From Frozen Graves
“But I just want to stop feeling.”
“As far as I can tell, there’s only one way to stop feeling and that’s to die.”
“That seems a bit drastic.”
“It is drastic. Perhaps the most drastic thing there is. There are other ways to kill feelings, like drinking a lot or working hard, constantly, pushing those around you as far away as possible until there’s no way for you to reach out to them but ultimately, the only way to completely stop feeling, forever, is to die.”
“I’m not sure I’m ready for that.”
“Good. You’ll be a better person for it.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that the most interesting, amazing people I’ve ever met, the ones who influenced and shaped the universe itself, are the ones that felt too much but lived through it.”
“That sounds hard.”
“It is. It involves living.”
This used to be me. I used to hate feeling every heavy breath of the world as if they were my own, but I learned that I am also more aware of every sigh of relief and breath of comfort it had to offer. Suffering extreme pain, sorrow, and guilt has also allowed me to be able to find happiness, meaning, and love from even the simplest things and smallest of gestures so I am grateful. I am grateful to be able to pick up my pieces, even if it’s with my bleeding hands and broken soul.
“Better not to give in. It takes ten times as long to put yourself back together as it does to fall apart.”
But at least that gives me the chance to rebuild myself; I’m taking the pieces I want to keep, casting aside those I want to leave behind, and gathering the ones other people give me to make myself better than I was before. I hope you don’t mind that I still have that piece of you that you once shared with me, because I’d feel like I was missing something had I left it behind with everything else. Because that piece isn’t just you anymore, it’s grown into a fusion of everything you shared with me and all I gave to you. Some of it is what causes me sorrow, but to get rid of that is to also lose some of the best qualities that you brought out of me. Some things that only ever came out because of you. So I keep it for the good and the bad. If this post seems to go in circles, it’s because that’s how my brain has been…for 2 years it feel like…never finding closure. That may never come to me…so all I can hope for at least is to wander in one direction…that I may stumble into true happiness again.
THIS DESERVES A BILLION FUCKING NOTES.
OMG. I am not ever not reblogging this. People need to be heard.
Everytime I will reblog. People NEED to see this.
Forever reblog.
READ THIS. Take a few seconds, and just read this. Then reblog it. Then think about it hard.
legit crying.
~Pa~Ga~Sa~…Always
” This moth lives for just one day, and yet, you will never see it fall to the ground and curse the futility of its existence. Nor flowers weep when winter comes. Nor the moon sigh when dawn approaches. We are only ever given just so much. But it is always, all we need. ” - I Wrote This for You
I don’t know why I like this clip so much.
“Even if it’s only as an obstacle for you to overcome…I’m always going to be there for you. Even if you hate me…That’s what big brothers are for”…
…because I know you well enough to know that no amount of hate could ever fully consume that heart of yours. The kind of goodness and strength that gives me hope for everything else in this world. So I just pray. I pray every single day that whatever pain, or hardship, or darkness that threatens to taint your life is overcome by the light in your heart. That the world may see you as I see you: with love and with hope. All I wish is for you to be happy…truly happy…smiling genuinely at life. If you choose to be otherwise merely to spite me, then just remember also that being happy without me can be my punishment as well.
~Pa~Ga~Sa~…always
You and I are unique brothers. And even if I end up just becoming an obstacle you need to overcome, I’ll always be there for you. Even if you end up hating me. That’s what big brothers are for. - Uchiha Itachi
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
