Do Not Surrender Fierceness

I am reading a John Steinbeck book called, Travels with Charley, In Search of America.   The book chronicles a journey John Steinbeck took across America in the early 1960’s.  He was older and thought he lost his connection to people.  Born and raised in the fertile agricultural area of California, he wrote amazing tales of common folk born from his deep connection to people.  Think “Of Mice and Men” or “Grapes of Wrath” or “East of Eden”.

John decided to hit the road to reconnect with people and himself.  He bought a custom pickup with camper shell.  With this truck he could go anywhere, sleep anywhere and just be anywhere.   His companion was only his faithful dog named Charlie.

I am working my way through this book.  The writing from John Steinbeck is amazing and I can not wait to finish the story.  Just today, my blogger friend David posted on his site Lead.Learn.Live a wonderful piece on “where do sentences come from”.  As I read it I thought of my current reading … this novel by John Steinbeck.  Without doubt John Steinbeck can write a sentence and another sentence and so on to fill a novel and create a compelling story.

Here is a short piece from Travels with Charley.  It reminds me that each of us need to hold our passion throughout our full lives.  Do not ever give up.  We are told that life is a journey.  John Steinbeck drove off one day to continue his journey and rediscover himself in the process.

Each of us need to decide when we may need to drive off for ourselves and rediscover.  Yes, life is a journey and while we may think we are alone, we are not.  John Steinbeck discovered he was not alone and we are not alone either.  Indeed, we move together.

I did not want to surrender fierceness for a small gain in yardage.  My wife married a man; I saw no reason why she should inherit a baby.  I knew that ten or twelve thousand miles driving a truck, alone and unattended, over every kind of road, would be hard work, but to me it represented the antidote for the poison of the professional sick man. 

And in my own life I am not willing to trade quality for quantity.  If this projected journey should prove too much then it was time to go anyway.  I see too many men delay their exits with a sickly, slow reluctance to leave the stage.  It’s bad theater as well as bad living.