“Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith.”—Steve Jobs
Sometimes the brick to the head is a wakeup call. Don’t be discouraged. Certainly, don’t lose faith. Look within and look for the opportunity.
Martin Luther King, Jr. said “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” The challenges in life don’t break us, they make us. Embrace them. Welcome the “brick in the head”.
One of the songs in my workout mix is “Man Against the World” by Survivor*:
“Have you ever walked alone at night
Like a man against the world
No one takes your side
A boat against the tide
When your faith is shaken you start to break
And you heart can’t find the words
Tossed upon the sand
I give you a man against the world
All the people cheer ’til the end is near
And the hero takes a fall
Then they’ll drag you through the mud
You’re only flesh and blood
I have walked the path from dark to light
And they’ve yet to come to terms
Alone I take my stand
I’m only a man against the world
And love, like a distant reminder
It tugs at my shoulder
It calls me home
I shout, can a single voice carry
Will I find sanctuary within your arms
Someday when the answer’s clearer
Someday when I even the score
You’ll reach and you’ll find me near you
Right beside you
Forevermore
But for now I’ll walk the night alone
Like a man against the world
A brand new day will shine
Through the avalanche of time
Now the road’s grown long, but the spirit’s strong
And the fire within still burns
Alone I take my stand
I give you a man against the world”
I always have to wait for the next song in the mix. It can sometimes set the tone for the day. One more than one occasion, it has been followed by either “Another One Bites the Dust” or “We are the Champions” by Queen. “Oh, great!” is usually my response to the former. The latter gives me a sense of invictus maneo the Armstrong moto.
Of course, no pairing of songs can define me. The coincidence of these songs, however, underscores that life has its choices. It is “man (or Woman) against the world”, but choose whether “another one bites the dust” or “we are the champions. Our circumstances are a burden, challenge, or opportunity. Which? That is a matter of choice.
“A boat against the tide”, “tossed upon the sand”, dragged “through the mud”, …, or “life hits you in the head with a brick”, today is an opportunity to carpe momentoI It will be “no bed of roses, no pleasure cruise…(but) consider it a challenge before the whole human race” and know you “ain’t gonna lose”.
Be your best today; be better tomorrow!
* “Man Against the World”, writers: James M. Peterik, Jimmy Wayne Jamison, Frank Sullivan, Jimi Jamison
“We are the Champions”, writer: Freddie Mercury