If winter comes can spring be far behind

 If winter comes can spring be far behind

Human life is a mingled thread of joy and sorrow. Like day and night, happiness and sorrow are inseparably woven into our life. Every sorrow has a spark of joy behind it, every adversity provides an opportunity for the fuller and greater flowering of manhood, every disappointment sharpen's man's resolve to conquer adverse force. 

It is but true to say that "if winter comes, can spring be far behind." Human life is a state of existence in which there is much to be endured and little to be enjoyed, or as Thomas Hardy has put it, "happiness is but an occasional episode in the general drama of pain". 

The changes of fortune, fall from prosperity, sudden misery and suffering are extremely common in this world. However, the question is whether a man is going to endure "the slings and arrows of an outrageous fortune" or by taking arms against them, 

end them or just make an abject surrender to them and thus bring more misery and sorrow into his life. Obviously, the duty of man is to put up a heroic resistance against the sea of troubles and fight these ills without submitting to them. 

The changes of fortune, fall from prosperity, sudden misery and suffering are extremely common in this world. However, the question is whether a man is going to endure "the slings and arrows of an outrageous fortune" or by taking arms against them, end them or just make an abject surrender to them and thus bring more misery and sorrow into his life.

Obviously, the duty of man is to put up a heroic resistance against the sea of troubles and fight these ills without submitting to them. Alexander Pope had very rightly said, "Hope springs eternal in human midst, Man never is but always to be blest". 

It is this hope that continuously wells up in a person's heart and makes him exclaim that if winter comes, can spring be far behind? Rather it is the coming of winter that makes the arrival of spring surer than ever.

The sinking sun promises before it melts into the golden sea that it will come back tomorrow with a beautiful dawn and a better, sunnier day. It is the clouds that for some time hide the sun but that does not mean the sun is not there. 

So what if the Earth seems to be barren and fruitless, so what if the trees seem dead standing stark naked ripped of their last of the leaves, and the wind sounds hollow and scary. A few days more and the Earth will spring forth with life, teeming with flowers and birds, bees humming and the breezes singing. 

It is this dead winter that promises a lively spring. The quotation referred to originated from Percy Shelley's poem, 'Ode to the West Wind.' The poet wants his dead and dull thoughts to be scattered like dead leaves by the West Wind so that new and fresh thoughts can regenerate in him. 

As winter is sure to be followed by spring, in the same way, dark and unhappy days of life are bound to be followed by a period of happiness and joy. Winter symbolizes barrenness, while spring stands for abundance, joyousness, and fruitfulness. 

The American recluse poetess, Emily Dickinson relates her own experience in life about 'hope' and concludes 

"I've heard it in the chilliest land—

And on the strangest sea—

Yet, never, in extremity, 

It asked a crumb—of Me". 

Yes, hope is the only thing in life that never expects anything in return but has since ages pushed and surged forward even through difficult times and trying moments. "Hope is the rope that swings you through life". 

Even when misfortune and adversity strike to break the determination of man, hope flies in like a reliable anchor, like a trustworthy friend to hold on to and survive the thick clouds of darkness, gloom, despair. 

Nature too has sprinkled its message of hope and courage. With thorns we have roses, after rain, there is a rainbow, in every dark cloud there exists a silver lining, if there is winter snow, there is the summer sun to melt it. 

It is the characteristic of a weak will and a short-sighted person to lose heart in the face of obstacles and hardships. But a man of faith, courage, and confidence pursues his goal with unflinching determination, persistent patience, rock-like strength, and steady perseverance. 

One famous example from the history of sports is that of Florence May Chadwick, the first woman to swim across the English channel, in both directions. 

When she was attempting to swim across the Catalina Channel, a thick fog enveloped the coastline, making her think that the coast was very far away. As a result, she quit. 

However, later she found out that her destination was just a mile away. She regretted her decision of not persisting to achieve her goal. One has to remain firm with indomitable will and determination in the face of rough times and then only can one sail through life with one's head held high. "People do not lack strength, they lack the will". 

Victor Hugo Today, people are having a miserable existence, due to frustration and despair taking center stage in their lives. The alarming rate of suicides amongst the youth is a testimonial to the pessimistic attitude that they are harboring. Life is like a see-saw. What goes down, will subsequently come up. 

Today various factors of life have made man morbidly tired of himself. In the midst of intellectual, moral, and spiritual bankruptcy, the forces of optimism though bleak, appear to be the only sustaining force. 

In our frustration, we are made to think that life is devoid of joy and happiness. It is wrong on our part to lose faith in the ultimate goodness of things. We must realize that in the course of life good and evil days follow in succession. 

Each follows the other as night follows the day. Indeed, it is human nature to welcome joys and condemn sorrows. But we must bear sufferings with patience and fortitude in the hope that as spring follows winter, joy will follow sorrow. 

One should not reach the lowest ebb of his life if hardship knocks at the door and the winds blow adversely. One has to keep pressing against the storm, only then one can reach the spring of his dreams, the paradise of his hopes, and the land of one's own achievements. One will have to survive the winter, live through the night, and beat the storm in order to emerge out as a winner in the end. 

shown and does not care to see what lies behind. Hence, people are often deceived because of such appearances. A thirsty traveler in a desert mistakes the sand shining under the sun for an oasis of water. 

If mother nature can play games with humans, then humans, no doubt, can take their fellow humans for a ride. Sycophancy and hypocrisy can, of course, help people for some time to climb the social and economic ladder but concealment cannot work for long. 

Gold proves itself as purer than ever before when tried and tested, but it is the fake one that fails at the slightest touch of the test. Thus, it has been rightly and aptly saying that everything is not exactly as it seems.

A shiny piece of metal shining gloriously in the sun from afar turns out to be a useless piece of the sharp-edged tin if examined closely. 

With consumerism on the rise in today's times, we find so many products to choose from, in the market. A beautifully packaged product, advertised aggressively attracts more customers. 

However, more often, these products prove useless in the long run. Similarly, we have witnessed the rise of men donning saffron robes, the so-called `Godmen', claiming to be the masters of supernatural powers. But they are mere mortals like each one of us, who have taken to fooling innocent people in the name of religion and spirituality. 

Thus, before making hasty judgments based on what seems to be, one should take time to try and peep behind the facade of make-believe sweetness and politeness. One should use wisdom and discretion to weigh the appearance against what lurks behind as truth. 

Then only one can learn to differentiate between gold and the rest that glitters is gold. 

"Beauty is skin-deep". 

We must remember that real beauty is the beauty of heart, mind, and soul. In simplicity, lies Godliness. Gold symbolizes purity. Let us imbibe it in our character. 

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