One must not give up!

The Suzuki philosophy is based upon creating a positive environment, and it reflects Dr. Suzuki's belief in the potential of every human being.  That potential is imbued with positivity in itself.  I believe his message was "never give up."  

As Dr. Suzuki was training teachers in his Institute in Matsumoto, he would encourage others to seek their best by not only working a lot, practicing, devoting themselves to numerous repetitions of exercises, but he would encourage human behavior to be reflective, to be kind, and to be caring.  These were as important as just practicing.  In the preface to his book, Nurtured by Love, Dr. Suzuki says "I cannot deny the thing called fate. This is because the very fact that any of us are born into this world, like the fact that we will eventually die, is something about which we can do nothing...And thus, the unavoidable question arises about how we ought to live. Ability that has not been fostered, is something we must create on our own...We must not give up; nor is there any need to give up. This is something which is within the reach of every person, each in his or her own way." (p. 2-3, Nurtured by Love by Dr. Shinichi Suzuki)

I find that these days, my "to do" list is immensely long.  Not only mine, but most everyone else's too.  With the current world situation, it seems there is an underlying stress, and the residuals of the pandemic have left many of  us feeling more detached from others and tired, and maybe have some depression, too.  Adults may feel this way but also our children do, too. We must all take action in our own way, small steps at a time.  We must move forward.  We must accomplish our tasks little by little and sometimes accept that we are doing our best even if our results do not meet our A+ or 120% standards.  We must compromise.  But most of all, if we feel we are faced with something we cannot do, then we can use this as an opportunity to learn something new.  What knowledge or skill is missing that I cannot do this task? Who can I ask for help?

These are the questions we need to teach our children.  Teaching them to find the answers is very important.  But sometimes teaching them how to ask the right questions is vital to connecting outside themselves. If there is a barrier, working together with others can solve the issue or finding a "work around" to find another way through the problem.  In this moment, we learn we must not give up and that even as adults, we are always learning.

As we all strive to find our path in life, we may sometimes feel that it is always uphill or just too rocky.  At that moment, we must not give up.  It is the moment to make some choices and to also ask some questions:  Should I "stay the course" ?  Can I find someone to help me over this ridge?  Is there a tool or separate vehicle that could assist me? Should I backtrack and find a different path?  Shall I look for a fork in the road? Should I stop and pause to look around for a moment? These can all be solutions as we journey through life.  But most of all, we should not give up.