Good Worth Fighting For

We've all been there, that dreadful place where we must decide to fight or give up. I don't know your battles, only mine, but believe me there have been a few that have led me to near insanity or a wished death. Thankfully I had someone, or someone(s) who pushed me to 'rage against the dying of the light.'

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night.

These are just a few of the words from a poem Dylan Thomas wrote when his father was dying. It was no doubt difficult for him to watch his 'hero', his father; who had always been such a fierce, strong man, surrender so easily to weakness, blindness, old age, and imminent death. How could a man who had once been such a courageous soldier in the army surrender so gently? The son pleads with his father that despite the hopelessness, one must fight for the 'light' until the end.

The following scene from the Lord of the Rings is about 'raging' against the dying of a different 'light" (metaphor for 'good.') Here too, a loved one, speaks wise words to encourage the 'battle worn' not to give up.

If you are going through hell, keep going. - Winston Churchill