Perseverance

Perseverance

The ability to bear difficulties calmly and without complaint, trying again and again, commitment, hard work, caring, and patience. I’ve always been an ambitious, hardworking, dreamer but am now realizing though I get up when I fall – I haven’t always persevered. I’ve been confusing self discipline which I can maintain in sporadic spurts with perseverance. Self – Discipline is different; it’s an orderly or prescribed conduct or pattern of behavior. If the pattern is disrupted, it’s often replaced by discouragement. Discipline itself is a great thing but has a negative connotation, a few words that pops into my head are forced, rigid, and painful.

I’m attributing everything to Saturn Returns, the lessons I’m learning, and serendipitous occurrences that are enforcing these lessons. My heart is now open to truly being better, I’ve stopped focusing on the results, and my life has become even more enjoyable. I’m committed to eating better, working out, saving money, honing my skills, letting go of my fears, stop people pleasing ,and being the best possible me. God, The Universe, Ultimate Source or whatever you address this higher being as is conspiring to help me by keeping me motivated. I’m now having random informative conversations about nutrition with people who I’ve never discussed breakfast option with, located a how to pitch to magazines article online, found 2 calls for essay submissions, read an article in Psychology Today encouraging folks to get back on the wagon when they fall off while detailing long term benefits of not giving up, felt inspired by one of my favorite bloggers post on turning 31 years old ( detailing the work need to accomplish her goals / believing in herself (belleinbrooklyn)), etc.

I even found this kooky book titled “Live what you love” written by Melinda and Bob Blanchard in the 50% off clearance section at B&N ( unsure of why it was even there). Anyways,I go there almost every day during lunch and read a chapter of my current book of interest, in an effort to save money, of course :). I flipped the pages and ended on up page 15 and read the most, hilarious, inspiring, nutty personal essay about the couple entering a wedding cake contest for a Today Show wedding. The Blanchard’s aren’t pastry chefs, don’t own a bakery, and never even made a wedding cake prior to them entering the contest. They own a restaurant in Anguilla and had been on the show a couple times as a result. The on air wedding which was to be award to one lucky couple was being held in Anguilla, and one the producers thought of them for the contest (Anguilla association).

Any “normal” person would have said “Thanks for thinking of me but no thanks.” – Not the Blanchard’s. They accepted the job naively thinking they could pull off a “cake” and started researching designs and techniques. It wasn’t long before they realized they were in over their heads and didn’t know the difference between fondant or buttercream – wedding cakes after all are an art form. They didn’t want to back out and lose their Today show contact. So, they got to work versus being scared of their more experienced cake decorator/ pastry chef competitors and focused on their strengths. They knew island of Anguilla like the back of their hand and set out to create a cake that reflected that knowledge. They spent months perfecting their cake, baked endless cakes to find one that layered properly with buttercream, took walks to find the perfect boat that represented the island, made 100’s of umbrellas that were either too weak (thin) or amateurish looking (thick), consulted for hours with a friend who had experience baking / decorating cakes. They also faced disaster when their perfected product was put into the refrigerator the night before the show and turned an awful shade of purple and black (buttercream and the cold tempeture = bad idea).The couple didn’t despair but rolled up their sleeves and baked another cake, getting it in under the wire.

They didn’t win that competition but ended up with a great cake and the ability to recreate one.

Perseverance is a word that I need to add to my personal lexicon. I’m glad that I’ve learned this lesson.