invictus

OUT of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

~ William Ernest Henley (1875)

this has always been one of my favourite poems. it's speaks to the very nature of who i want to be and who i hope that i am. i think that we too often have the attitude of being unafraid on the big stuff...national championships and making big decisions but we forget the everyday stuff. believing that i am capable of achieving excellence in everything that i do...that the only limitations that actually exist are the ones that i put on myself.

that we are able to change our circumstances. we can't control others but we can can control how we respond to situations and standing with complete resolve in the face of adversity...whatever adversity is in our lives is how we shall be found unafraid.

adversity has many faces. and you will find adversity everywhere in your life. it's not that adversity exists which causes the problem...it's how we meet it.

so today i will meet adversity and smile at her, for she does not make me fear the future - rather she makes me welcome it because through the fire and storms of life comes strength and heart for what comes next.

:::cort:::