What makes life worth pursuing on?
For Stephen Hawking, celebrated British physicist and cosmologist, it’s “work”. But not just for the sheer sake of working, of earning a living, or of covetousness for material success – but rather, more profoundly, of finding significance (or meaning) in what you do.
With 12 honorary degrees, Hawking dedicated his life to finding answers about the universe, the Big Bang, creation, and other scientific queries. Debilitated at the age of 21 by ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and bound to a wheelchair until his death in 2018 at the age of 76, he never allowed depression to occupy a space in his life. Instead, he left us a beautiful message: “Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Never give up work. Work gives you meaning and purpose, and life is empty without it.”
Hawking compared black holes to depression, making it clear that neither the black holes nor depression are impossible to escape:
“Black holes ain’t as black as they are painted. They are not the eternal prisons they were once thought of. Things can get out of a black hole both on the outside and possibly to another universe. So if you feel you are in a black hole, don’t give up, there’s a way out.”
Yes, if even the infinitesimal interstellar universe is giving you the reason not to give up, there are yet more tangible reasons that you should not quit too. One, your dreams. You should never give up on your dreams because they are the gateway to your life purpose and profound happiness. Two, the people who matter most to you – your family and loved ones; they greatly count on your sacrifices and success. Three, it is when you feel you want to quit that you may be closest to making a breakthrough. The only time you fail is when you quit, and the moment you decide you cannot is the moment you stop being able.
That life is indeed a constant work in progress and that the human person has the unlimited potential to reach the unreachable is affirmed by my favourite author and educationalist, Paulo Freire, when he wrote: “Man, who is an incomplete being, and yet conscious of his incompletion, has the inherent potential for completion.”
Finally, I find the following words from John Greenleaf Whittier ever refreshing and re-assuring:
“When things go wrong, as they sometimes will;
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill;
When the funds are low and the debts are high;
When all is pressing you down a bit –
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.
Success is failure turned inside out;
The silver tint on the clouds of doubt;
And you can never tell how close you are;
It may be near when it seems far.
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit –
It’s when things go wrong that you must not quit.”