“A child can teach an adult three things:
To be happy for no reason,
To always be busy with something, and
To know how to demand with all his might that which he desires.” – Paulo Coehlo

I think we are born with a great capacity for persistence. It’s not just the quote that makes me think so.

The other day I was out beach combing with my kids. After we spent about 45 minutes tickling the clams so they’d squirt, picking up the jagged sea glass (that sounds so much better than broken bottles) so it wouldn’t cut any paws, and hunting for moon snail shells, my seven-year-old son, Mr. D discovered a wide tide pool.

There were tiny fish in the pool. He declared he wanted to catch one. I wandered nearby looking at the rocks and shells and watching his efforts out of the corner of my eye. All the while thinking, “He’s never going to catch a fish with his hands.”

So I emptied out our little beach bucket that I’d collected the broken glass and shells in and handed it to him.  The sand was too wet to sit so I kept circling as I daydreamed about sitting down with another cup of tea.

Finally, I took off my shoes and socks and waded in to the tide pool with him. It was warm and about the size a swimming pool with plenty of seaweed for the fish to hide under. I thought I could scare the fish towards him and hopefully speed up the process.

We spotted a flat fish that was almost an inch wide and the color of the sand. He was bigger than the other fish Mr. D had been chasing so he named him, “The King.” Every time Mr. D would get close, the fish would embed himself in the sand. The King’s camouflage was so good that he was nearly impossible to spot.

But Mr. D stayed at it and within minutes, we’d spot him again. As much as I wanted Mr. D to have success, I also was tiring of what seemed like a fruitless process. Isn’t this where we give up and call it a lesson in resilience?

I stepped out of the tide pool and started walking towards my shoes. I called over to Mr. D that we were heading back in five minutes. He responded with a verbal groan but kept working at catching The King.

And about five minutes later, he bent down with his hands together and scooped up some sand. He shouted, “I caught The King!!”

Indeed he did – with his bare hands. I took in his glowing grin as I brought him the bucket to put The King in. Then we happily headed back to where we were staying so Mr. D could show his sister the fish.

Then, after taking a couple of photos and telling the story, he walked The King down to the water and returned him to the bay.

That’s when I realized that persistence was something purer than I often see it these days: it’s keeping with our goals, finding the people that will wade in and help, ignoring anyone that tells us we can’t do it. And that staying with it doesn’t have to preclude being kind and accepting – because we can still tell the story and then let the fish swim away.

So… how badly do you want it?

(featured photo is mine of Mr. D returning The King to the water, second picture is of Mr. D with The King)

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