Yet
Monday June 7, 2010

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“…believe that the sort of
life you wish to live is,
at this very moment,
just waiting for you
to summon it up.
And when you wish for it,
you begin moving toward it,
and it, in turn,
begins moving toward you.”

-Suzan-Lori Parks (Playwright)commencement address at Mount Holyoke  in South Hadley, Massachusetts, May 27, 2001

(Click here for the entire speech)

During this past weekend, I attended a graduation in our community. One student of the graduating class gave a short, but truthful speech regarding the need to hold applause and celebration because they’ve only just crossed the threshold to begin their journey toward what they have yet to accomplish, thus the term commencement.

I found great enlightenment in her words, and while I’m well aware that students have only been given the skills that they must now apply to attain their dreams, a simple three letter word – yet – summed it up quite nicely.  This reminder could be observed by anyone of any age.

*You haven’t reached your dreams . . . yet.

*You haven’t found your purpose . . . yet.

*You haven’t found contentment . . . yet.

With just one word, the implication is that we still have time if we choose to continue to strive for our goal.  The quote I chose for this week’s inspiration ties in nicely I feel with the concept of the word “yet”.  A dream doesn’t arrive at our doorstep; we aren’t presented dreams simply because we have dreamt them.  We have to work, and work hard, very hard, for what we want to achieve.  We have to persevere through many moments where it seems we have reached a obstacle that is too formidable to conquer.  We have to gather up all of our pride after it has been ripped from us at times and continue to press forward.  It is not too late.  We simply haven’t reached our goal . . . yet.

Three women come to my mind immediately that didn’t achieve great success immediately, but as a result of trying new things, never being deterred and following their passions, found great success and have three of the most recognized names today in the world of literature and cooking – Jane Austen, Nelle Harper Lee and Julia Child.

Jane Austen, after her first unsuccessful attempt to be published at the age of 22, finally published her first book, Sense and Sensibility at the age of 36.  Nelle Harper Lee, the famous author of To Kill A Mockingbird, went to New York to become a writer against her father’s wishes and spent ten years writing and rewriting what is now an American classic, publishing it at the age of 34. And the beloved Julia Child didn’t even enter cooking school until she was 36, and the cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking wasn’t published until 1966 when Julia was 54.

So . . . go . . . don’t delay . . . because those dreams of yours will be achieved . . . but first you must put in the effort and have the undying passion to achieve them.

 “You must knock on doors
until your knuckles bleed.
Doors will slam in your face.
You must pick yourself up,
dust yourself off, and knock again.
It’s the only way
to achieve your goals in life.”

-Michael Uslan (Movie Producer)commencement address at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana,  May 06, 2006

Click here for the entire speech

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12 thoughts on “Yet

  1. I love these words…your words! The message you try to put through (maybe that’s the also Literature teacher in me….Like Julia Child, I am a newcomer to this world of French cooking…all my life doing something else, that I liked though, but then a new passion began…at 45, when I was 45! It is never too late to try a new beginning….Maybe, when I turn 54, there will be a new edition of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, by Cristina, this time…Why not dreaming?

  2. The images are just stunning and the idea of staying with your dream and not giving up on it is so important. I meant to say something in my post this weekend {but got distracted} about how the spiritual movement sometimes discourages words like “work” but work is such a wonderful and honorable thing when you love what you do! Great post my dear 🙂

  3. I have the exact typewriter from the pic halfway down your post. That made me happy. Another thing that made me happy was the (unintentional?) pun about the heights Julia Child would reach; she was 6’2″.

  4. I am always late on my comments but I hadn’t stopped by your blog until recently and I am getting caught up on your past words.

    This one brought me to tears. I read it over three times and then in tears I read it to my husband.

    I’ve been lost for years and youre helping me find myself.

    Thank you Shannon Able.

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