On Contradiction through Persistence and Patience

Welcome back ladies and gentlemen to my little corner of George Bush's "Internets". While I'm at it, let me give credit to one Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. for creating such a fine virtual world (Thanks, Al. While I'm thinking about it, that Nobel Prize you won for your work on global warming was touching. Really, it was.).

To the 90% of you who waited patiently for more than a week for a new entry to quench your parched thirst for knowledge, let me say thank you. To the other 10% who I liken to salt in an open wound, your persistent pestering served only to encourage me to delay this entry a day or two longer than I originally would have. Luckily for you, it just so happens that this particular delay allowed for a magnificent weekend experience from which the motivation and material for this post originates.

Thirteen days ago I wrote openly to the world about giving up on love...giving up on "her"....giving up on "you", because I know you're reading this. I had done it my way, and as painful as it was to accept the outcome of doing it my way, only to fail, I found solace in the fact that I was true to myself all along, refusing to compromise who I was in order to make the situation less painful. I remember sitting in this exact chair at this exact keyboard thirteen days ago, typing out the phrase "Second chances are rare". And while second chances are indeed just as rare today as they were two weeks ago, they still happen, and not only in the movies. The key ingredients involved in increasing the odds that you will stumble upon your own second chance at some point in your life are simple. They are persistence, and patience. Neither of these is more important than the other. The relationship is symbiotic. One simply has to find the right ratio in order to achieve the desired result. In my case, my desired result was/is getting the girl.

It is because of this desired outcome that I take almost a pride of sorts and pleasure in completely and totally contradicting my last Sinatra-inspired entry. It's not over. The curtain, as much as I thought it had closed two weeks ago, is still very much open. The lights have yet to go out, and the cast of characters remain at center stage. The final bow has yet to occur. As much as both characters both thought the show was over, it turns out it has only begun. Who knew it was so hard to discern "The End" from intermission? Act Two has thus far been a welcome surprise.

Persistence is an interesting fellow. For those among you who don't know him very well, you should know he has a very close cousin who goes by the name Stubbornness. These two cousins are character traits one possess in order to get something one really wants. It is all but impossible to have one without the other. They work very closely in conjunction with patience. Patience is perhaps the most difficult of all adopted behaviors to master, mostly because one never knows when it will pay off until that moment occurs. It does not allow one the ability to plot their progress on some virtual graph. It's impossible to analyze a given situation and tell one's self "Being patient is working so far, so I'm going to keep it up". No, patience pays off when you least expect it. Most among us don't even realize they possess the ability to summon these traits and behaviors until they are thrust into a situation (either by circumstance or one's own doing) in which a strong desire to achieve or obtain something (or in my case, someone) is present.

Let's face it, you can't make someone love you if they don't. Isn't that a lyric from some Top 40 song? But what you can do is prove to that person you care by simply being...by simply remaining. Persistence, patience, and stubbornness: three traits that when applied correctly, can make a world of difference. And trust me, when they do, you'll be just as happy to contradict yourself as I am.

Stay tuned boys and girls, minor details of the weekend's happenings are forthcoming...