Try Persistence

"Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience. Knowing grass, I can appreciate persistence." -Hal Borland

Persistence is something that can be found most any where in this life. In example, take a look at the picture shown above. It happens to be a cage that I built around a bird feeder in my back yard. This was my fourth version of my attempts to thwart the squirrels. Needless to say, the squirrels stayed persistent and figured this one out as well.

Yet I am persistent as well and finally found a simple solution, cayenne pepper. If I sprinkle this in the bird seed, the squirrels dislike it and will leave the bird seed alone. The cayenne pepper does not bother the birds due to some type of biological thing that I can not explain.

You do have to stay vigilant with the cayenne pepper as the squirrels will keep checking the feeder. And I must say that I do admire the persistence of these squirrels. It can be frustrating for me that turned into a strange contest between man and animal. The squirrels continually tried to get the prize that awaited them.

It is a lesson we can learn as humans; to succeed we must continually keep trying. Some times we will encounter an obstacle (cayenne pepper) that does not seem worth the effort. But like the squirrels that would repeatedly test to see if I had forgotten the cayenne pepper, we must keep trying. Another thought is to move on to something else for a while. You can always come back to the bird feeder later.

See what works in your life and know that the prize is much bigger then just bird seed. Stay inspired my friends.

Squirrel Obstacle Course

After All

“Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragement, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak” ~Thomas Carlyle

Thirteen years ago on a quiet Monday morning Lawrenceville Georgia Police were called to a family restaurant called Tanner's. It was a nice and friendly place that specialized in chicken dinners. What police found was a horrible double-murder carried out in a cold and brutal fashion.

A manager named Marc Ratthaus was killed and when the day chef, Adolfo Gonzales showed up, he too was shot and killed. Two young men with different stories and different lives with the same ending. It was heart breaking all around. The killings impacted many, many lives; the restaurant closed, people moved on.

Two brothers were arrested and found guilty of the robbery and murders. They each claimed a third man was the trigger man although one of the brothers was found to have killed at least one man. This third man escaped and it was felt by many that he would never be found or that he ever existed.

You have likely guessed correctly already. They found William Zepeda. They captured him, and now a court date will result and William Zepeda will have to confront this awful crime.

But what of the law enforcement officials? Their persistence in pursuing this case didn't end thirteen years ago. When the third suspect disappeared, they didn't give up, they continued the search. It is this persistence that defines their work. It is this persistence which defines their character.

I had thought of many ways to talk of persistence in our daily lives. To never give up and to keep pushing forward with our lives. It was when I picked up the newspaper today, February 23, 2011 my mind changed about the actual application of the word persistence.

It made me think about the word in a different context. It also gave me a chance to honor not only the Lawrenceville Police Department, but also any of the folks in law enforcement. You see my son worked at that restaurant. My son had been in the store that same morning to pick up his pay check. My son was not hurt and the persistence of law enforcement people comforts me.

Persistence can do quite a bit for your life. It can capture a suspect after thirteen years but it can also capture a dream. Remain persistent in your life and things will work out eventually.