Never Give In

"Never, never, never give in." -Winston Churchill

The above quotation is often mis-quoted as "...never, never give up." The quote came from a speech that Winston Churchill gave at his old school called Harrow School on October 29, 1941.

In the speech he said, "This is the lesson: never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy."

England had been suffering through the German Blitz from September 1940 to May of 1941. The German military had tried to break the will of the British people and a massive amount of destruction and terror had rained down upon England. By October of 1941, the British were certainly weary but not defeated.

Winston Churchill gave his speech in the dawning light of survival from Germany's attempt to defeat that will the British people struggled to maintain. It didn't work and his speech was an affirmation to all that regardless of how tough things are, "never give in" to the destructive forces you are up against.

There is an old adage about not looking at the ground but up and forward. One could say that if the British looked down they saw rubble and destruction. But if they looked up all they could see was the smoke and falling bombs of German war planes. Neither was very inviting.

Yet I believe they saw through the smoldering flames. They saw the blue sky piercing the blackened air. At night, they searched and found twinkling stars peering back at them. They found solace in the beauty of the universe giving them hope and strength.

If your life is being pulled down into the dirt by forces unknown. If life is blackening your sky, remember you can push through by looking for and holding onto even the smallest bits of hope. A bright star in the night sky that catches your eye, a brilliant sunrise, or the smile from a stranger.

Even when it seems all might be lost, "never give in - never give up."