Stay The Course

If you kept tabs during the recently held US election, you would have gotten the impression that the print and broadcast media were up in arms against George W. Bush. For most of them, four more years of his presidency was something untenable.

A barrage of criticism was thrown his way ranging from the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, to the non-existence of WMD, to the National Guard memos which turned out to be fake, to the less than stellar US economic figures, and to the undestroyed WMD etc. But through it all, you saw a George Bush smiling, smirking and swaggering which all the more incensed the Democrats and the liberals. On the eve after the election, he came out swinging, defeating John Kerry and getting more than 50% of the popular vote.

Despite all obstacles, this Texan held his ground. Most of us may not like George W. Bush. But you cannot help admire his tenacity. The whole kitchen sink was thrown at him and yet, he sung the same tune. We may not know it privately but publicly, he was the picture of a man in control, of a man who stayed the course.

In our simple ways, we are confronted with obstacles, some hurdles are more difficult than others. Sometimes, due to the enormousness of the problem, we cannot stop ourselves from thinking of quitting. History has lots of shining examples of quitting in midstream. But history also has a stream of profiles of perseverance and of staying the course. How can one forget the Allied landing on the beach of Normandy, of the death of countless lives to create a beachhead signaling the end of Nazi Germany's hegemony over continental Europe.

But the question is: When do we know when to stay the course or to quit? This query is made more difficult if our problem is exacerbated by the presence of kin or the pangs of love or rejection which makes us think with our heart rather than with our head. Very difficult indeed.

Perhaps, as has often been remonstrated by the oft quoted maxim, we need to look at the forest and not the trees. Why? Because trees block our line of vision and at the same time, we are daunted by their height. Step out of the forest and you will realize that they are not so scary after all. It is when you are inside Fangorn forest that we, hobbits, dread of orcs, of trees talking, or of witches dwelling in the mists. Step out and you will see the majesty of the great rolling plains of Rohan. Then, make a decision.

Or another guide is whether the ends of our adventure are worthy of pursuit. Is it worth all the sweat and man-hours poured into it? Is it worth all the moral means to achieve it? Is it worth all the conflict, enduring the hubris of our friends, and the exhaustion of our emotion and intellect. If it is not, then quit.

It is so easy to give counsel when none is asked or when our emotions are placid. And maybe, that is why Ignatius of Loyola cautioned his companions never to make a decision in a fit of anger. It blurs our intellect and dims our judgment.

So, my friends, when you cross the bridge of whether to stay this course or not, whether to continue to love this person or not, or whether to continue to invest in a losing proposition or not, just remember to gaze at the forest or to stretch your neck a little longer if you can see the outline of the finish line. If you can either do both, then stay the course. If not, there is no shame in quitting.