'dig in your heels'

February 25, 2009

"'That's just life. You can fight it or you accept it. The only difference is, if you accept it, you get to do other things. If you fight it, you're stuck in the same spot forever. Does that make sense?'

But aren't some things worth fighting?

'You know that's true.'

So how do you know which is which?

'I don't know a way to tell for sure,' she said. 'You ask,'Why am I really fighting this?' If the answer is 'Because I'm scared of what things will be like,' then, most times, you're fighting for the wrong reason.'

And if that's not the answer?

'Then you dig in your heels and you fight and fight and fight. But you have to be absolutely sure you can handle a different kind of change, because in the end, things will change anyway, just not that way. In fact, if you get into a fight like that, it pretty much guarantees things are going to change.'

He nodded. He knew she was right but he hated what she said. A person could stop a specific thing, but they couldn't stop change in general. Rivers can't run backwards. Yet, he felt there must be an alternative, neither willfulness nor resignation."

- The Story of Edgar Sawtelle