The following piece was requested in belief that among all things some virtues are worth fighting for.

She sat there working on a vessel a few months ago and she needed a specific color of thread, but in her effort to get it out… all the threads got tangled together. Frustrated she sighs deeply and rolls her eyes. “Just what I need, more work.” She says out loud. Knowing that it was worth the work and both necessary she started the tedious work of untangling the threads one by one.

It wasn’t easy to say the least. It required slowly taking apart what had intricately come together. And though at first she felt her time would be better spent doing something else… something told her to just sit there and keep at it. After all it was her mess to fix; no one else would do it for her. And though frustrated when there was no end in sight she took a few hours to pull them all apart. All the knots and the loops, all the ties and the bonds.

And she got to thinking about honest virtues like friendships, love, and family. The things we try so very hard to hold onto. She thought of how at times our lives could get so tangled it was difficult to think of a way out.

And it’s true. Threads can be so thin and knotted that the actual task of coming undone can seem like too much work. To the point where popular belief is that it’s easier to discard and start anew with a complete different piece. It happens to the best of us. Life and its challenges can put so much strain on us and our relationships that at times it’s easier to give in and give up than begin the task of mending. And there is also the fact that sometimes we attempt with all our hearts but pull the wrong string and all of a sudden it’s double the work and double the trouble.

Mending a broken relationship is not an easy task. There are at times so many twisted lines and so many matted feelings. It might take us a long time to actually restore what has been broken. But the truth is that it’s the delicacy and the patience that we actually use to untangle ourselves that takes us to an actual solution. I suppose the real question is: “Am I willing to put forth the effort? Are virtues like friendships, love, and family worth it?”

It is said that anything worth having is worth fighting for. We have to understand that nothing in this world worth having comes easy. That it’s a rude awakening at times to learn that lesson. But in reality, sadly, we just get so trapped in this system that instant gratification is all we look for.

But the truth is value is only added to something after we realize how much worth and effort we have to put forth to gain it. And that among all things what is said is true… “The only place success comes before work is in a dictionary”.