Cry, but Never Give Up

Cry, but Never Give Up

Coming down from the mountain, with the help of a new fresh oak long staff — ahhh! What a great feeling of eternal liberation. It is a beautiful rainy morning. Birds were hectically and loudly singing. At the horizon, the green grass was still shining in the natural early morning light. A couple of wild rabbits, sitting curiously, looked at me from their kingdom under a trail of pines. The rain intensified the scent of the pines and nature; nothing brings to mind more pleasant feelings than that natural aroma …
Walking further along the dense green and gold pine trail, suddenly I had a deep feeling that some-thing was wrong. Looking further, I saw a little boy, sitting on a rock under the umbrella tree, wearing an expression of thinking too low of himself and unwillingly accepting mistakes … He seemed surprised to see me in his remote little nest, a frightened glow in his eyes.
“Sir! You are full of rainwater. Shouldn’t you try to avoid such precipitation?” the young boy asked.
“Don’t you know the rain is a blessing, like holy water?”
“Ummm … I never thought of it that way! That’s pretty special. I will remember that one,” answered back the sad youth.
I could feel his heart crying out for solution. He was sad and worried, and seemed so alone. Sitting on the rock with him, I slowly gave him my oak long staff. It didn’t take long before his emotion started to switch to a feeling of excitement …
“Tell me, son … Are you OK?”
Moving my staff like a sword, he started to describe to me how everything so far that he seemed to do or compete for, he’s always losing or failing in his dream or goal that he tried so hard to achieve …
“ Well, son, life is a constant fight. You need to have the spirit of a fighter in your heart!”
‘’Oh! Tell me more,” he implored, with eyes so open …
I felt the duty of a master holding his lamp up to light the thick darkness.
“You see, son, this applies to a state of mind — to the need to be a fighter. Fighters are badly needed in our time. But such fighters do not necessarily go to the battlefield, gun in hand. Their weapons are not necessarily bullets. Their weapons may be knowledge, faith and strong will. They can bring the enemy sure death without drawing his blood. A fighter is always in pursuit of light.
“Cry, but never give up.
“Instead of basking in the sunshine under a clear sky, he holds a burning torch in the darkness of night to illuminate people’s way so that they can continue their journey till they see dawn of a new day. It is the task of a fighter to dispel darkness. Instead of avoiding darkness, he braves it, fighting the hidden demons and monsters therein. He is determined to wipe them out and win the light. He knows no com-promise. He will keep on fighting until he wins the light.
“A fighter is never irresolute or inactive. He plunges deep into teeming crowds in search of such vermin as flies and venomous mosquitoes. He will fight them relentlessly and refuse to coexist with them under the same sky. To him, life means nothing but continuous fighting. He either survives by win-ning light, or perishes with his body covered all over with cuts and bruises. Fighting just serves to in-crease his stamina and strengthen his faith … In the course of the struggle, it is the ‘future’ that serves as the beacon light to him; the ‘future’ gives people hope and inspiration. He will never lose his youthful vigour. A fighter will never lose heart or despair. He will pile up broken pieces of brick and stone to re-build a high tower on the ruins of failure. No blows will ever break his will. He will never close his eyes until he has breathed his last …
“A fighter is always fearless. His steps are firm. Once he has settled on an objective, he will press right on. He is never afraid of being tripped by a stumbling block. No obstacles will ever make him change his mind. His eyes will never be hoodwinked by false appearances. His actions are guided by faith …
“He can endure any hardships or sufferings while striving to attain his chosen objective. He will never abandon his work as long as he is alive.
“This is the kind of fighter we now need. He is not necessarily possessed of superhuman capability. He is just an ordinary person. Anyone, son, can be a fighter, so long as he has the determination. Hence a few rainwater holy words fell today from the light of wisdom above, to encourage you, son.”
After hearing all this, the little one got up and start to walk away with my Oak staff.
“Hey son, where you go with my staff?”
Without turning, the little one said with the tone of a warrior, “the staff is mine now. It is my turn to be a fighter …”
— S.W.P.