Tenacity in the Valley

“Train up your child in the way they are to go, even when old they will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6

I was driving down the highway the other day when I glanced at my driver’s side window. There, hanging on for dear life was a bug. It wasn’t really a bug; it was a flying type insect. Not being an entomologist, I don’t know what it was. I can tell you it wasn’t a common house fly, horse fly, wasp, bee, locust, or mosquito. But it was something with wings, and she hitched her ride somewhere between Ennis and Jeffers. Beyond that I haven’t got a clue.

What amazed me, though, was how she hung onto the glass as I zipped down the highway. How does she do that, I wondered? I couldn’t picture the glass having enough dirt for her to gain a claw hold; neither did it seem clean enough for suction cup feet to glom onto, either.

However she did it, she was tenacious. She hung on for a while, and when it was time, she let go and disappeared. I presume she flew over to the sand bar on Odell Creek to grab something to drink and maybe chat with the chiggers and ticks.

As interesting as are the mechanics involved in “how” she hung on, I found myself also wondering “why” she hung on as long as she did, for hanging on is hard to do.

I know; I’ve got the attention span of a gnat. I will concentrate on something for a few milliseconds and then my mind finds another trail to wander; I reach a fork in the road and without fail, I take it.

I don’t know if the lack of focus is a character defect, a mental disorder, or a lack of discipline and will power. I have no idea. I would have to give the matter some thought, and Lord knows THAT ain’t going to happen any time soon.

What I do know, however, all kidding aside, is that if one wants to get good at something, one has to learn how to hang on and to persevere – and one does not have to be perfect at it. It is sufficient to hang on long enough to improve, and to be willing to let go long enough to advance, and then to hang on again some more.

That’s how caterpillars make progress, isn’t it? A horse may have long powerful legs to help it go long distances very quickly, but the caterpillar’s short stubs move it far enough and fast enough to load up on the energy she needs to become a butterfly before the season is finished. She is not in competition with the horse, so her ego’s not battered and bruised when the horse trots by. She creeps, she eats, and in the fullness of time, she soars. She may start slow and ugly in life, but later on she neither bites nor stings, is pretty to watch and is a world class pollinator. What’s more, many species of butterfly range over 2,000 miles in their lifetime. One would never know that if they focused only on the caterpillar, would they?

So what can we learn about tenacity and hanging on from flying hitchhikers and butterflies?

First, find satisfaction in being who you are. In Socratic terms: Know yourself. You don’t have to be better or more tenacious than your neighbor; just be better today than you were yesterday.

Second, be teachable. We can learn from books and bugs alike. Be open to learning from the expertise and experiences of yourself and others.

Third, focus on the now. If you are learning a new hobby or trade, take it one step at a time, and concentrate on the current step. Get good at what you’re doing, and then move along.

Fourth, ask for help if you need it. Few people feel like they are experts, but they’re quite honored when asked to provide instruction or insights. We are called to respect the dignity of every person; when we ask for help, we build up those whose help we seek.

Lastly, don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Recognizing a mistake is an act of learning! It’s part of being human.

So let’s bug out and tenaciously embrace our humanity in this, our valley.