Stories of the open road

Tales of a Vagabond...

By Pathum Punchihewa

This world is such a strange place. I mean no offence but it seems never to allow anybody to fulfill any of their dreams. Now, do not throw punches of optimism and positive thinking from your countless work shop’s as I say this because I see more people losing rather than winning. First of all, I was afraid to start this theory with this paragraph because many people may just stop trying after reading it. They will be defeated even without a fight. There is a beautiful saying amongst the Irish peasantry to inspire hope under adverse circumstances: "Remember," they say, "that the darkest hour of all, is the hour before day."

So I say again, “The darkest hour of the night is just before the dawn…” This is one inspirational quote in my life that took me years to decipher its true meaning. I had to read Paulo Coelho’s ‘The Alchemist’ to remember the spirit of the quotation again; I had to walk through many debris of life to realise it’s true meaning. Now, I am telling you the story…

‘But a man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated’, once said, Ernest Hemingway in his book, “The Old Man and the Sea”. This not only stands for the pride of man but also stands for the true spirit of keeping the fight. Now, that is the spirit I am talking about. The spirit of relentlessly fighting and if upon the face of defeat and death, to die as a noble man.

That ‘code of valor’ is only understandable in the heart of a stout-hearted person. And usually they are rare and that explains the high percentage of losers when comparing the rate of winners whom are written all over in history.

Yes, History says winners are rare, and they are meant to re-shape the world. In old times they were meant to be worshiped at a dramatic level.

Now let’s get back to our lives. Are you afraid to chase your dreams? If you are afraid, who is the monster in your dreams that you are so afraid of? Let me guess, you are afraid to lose. You can try and win or try and lose. But you should never choose to never try and so never win nor lose but just keep dreaming until you will ultimately be defeated by life or death. Don’t get me wrong but you are still a ‘loser’.

The night is not dark as it seems, in fact if it is darker and makes you fearful, do not forget, you are about to witness the ‘sunrise’ and it will be such a beautiful scenery that you will never forget it until your sigh your last breath.

Never hesitate and give up quickly, even you feel that it’s enough and you are tired and have to go. You have to walk until the road ends. Many people who failed did not know how close they were to success when they gave up. People don't actually fail, they just quit too easily. Maybe the road to Eldorado is dark, but never give up. You will end up in a Valley of Gold.

the darkest hour the darkest hour the darkest hour

Published on Youth Mirror - Daily Mirror (11th November 2010)

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Excellent post. Truly, success is often much nearer than we think, and sometimes it is dressed in dirty clothes. The darkest hour is truly at dawn.

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