Best or Worst
Charles Dickens novel, A Tale Of Two Cities, opens with this powerful paragraph:
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
Dickens was referring to London and Paris of his time, but also on a deeper level, he was referring to conflicting forces. It is a paragraph of paradoxes contrasting how the worst of times can also be the best of times. He likely was referring to the rich and the poor, and of course to London and Paris, in which the French Revolution was underway.
But the application I see is, if things aren't going "good" for you, the worst of times can be the best of times. I may be stretching what Dickens intended in his writing, but his words are true for life application. The worst of times can and eventually will bring the best of times.
Bad times give opportunity and potential of birthing new ideas, new products, new thinking and even a new you. In the good times, innovation is rare. Companies cease innovating if they aren't being pushed. If it's smooth sailing, you can count on characteristics of resting, lack of innovation, slowness, and little progress.
It's the bad times that give us the boost to do things differently. It's the bad times that form character. It's the bad times that build strength. It's the bad times that allow for better ideas to be seen and heard. It's bad times that allow for change.
Change, growth, development don't happen in good times. Or at least at an extremely minimal level.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...
Turn your worst of times into the best of times. What an exciting opportunity "the worst of times" provides.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
Dickens was referring to London and Paris of his time, but also on a deeper level, he was referring to conflicting forces. It is a paragraph of paradoxes contrasting how the worst of times can also be the best of times. He likely was referring to the rich and the poor, and of course to London and Paris, in which the French Revolution was underway.
But the application I see is, if things aren't going "good" for you, the worst of times can be the best of times. I may be stretching what Dickens intended in his writing, but his words are true for life application. The worst of times can and eventually will bring the best of times.
Bad times give opportunity and potential of birthing new ideas, new products, new thinking and even a new you. In the good times, innovation is rare. Companies cease innovating if they aren't being pushed. If it's smooth sailing, you can count on characteristics of resting, lack of innovation, slowness, and little progress.
It's the bad times that give us the boost to do things differently. It's the bad times that form character. It's the bad times that build strength. It's the bad times that allow for better ideas to be seen and heard. It's bad times that allow for change.
Change, growth, development don't happen in good times. Or at least at an extremely minimal level.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...
Turn your worst of times into the best of times. What an exciting opportunity "the worst of times" provides.
I have observed the generation that came from WW2 and the Great Depression. They had grit, work ethic, endurance, helping one another, etc. I never tired of listening, in the wee hours of the night, too my father sharing the hard times. Which made him such caring man, in the good times.
ReplyDeleteYou make me want to read he book now!
ReplyDeleteAs you've mentioned before, coasting is not always a good place to be. Comfort is not always good. I wanna learn and grow.