Letters to My Children: It'll Work Out If You Do The Work

Hey, kiddo, you're having a rough go at the moment. Life is like that sometimes. It isn't the result of anything you actively or deliberately did, you didn't piss anyone off, you didn't anger any gods (that we know of, that is), there wasn't a conspiracy, it just was. Accidents happen, true, unpredictable randomness. You were caught up in the whims of fortune and the randomness of the universe, and it sucks.

Yes, yes, I know there are events that happen that could be random, or they might be engineered by someone, but you and I are both sure this was an accident, as random, and as unfortunate, as they come.

I'm sorry you're hurt and hurting. I want to take away all of your pain, as any parent would. Most parents also know that pain is what shapes us, so we let go a little bit and hope for the best lesson with the least pain.

A few weeks ago when we were talking, during the worst of all of this, you made my heart sing. Despite your pain, you're still positive. You smiled at one point, and said, "It'll all work out." I needed decades of experience to be able to see the glass as half full, that even in this yet-another mess, it would work out. But you! You have the mindset so soon! I was, and am, so impressed!

But here's the thing I have to say, even as I rejoice (and where I come out with The Words™), it'll work out only if you do the work.

It's easy to sit around and hope. It's easy to sit around and dream. It's easy to do the easy busywork. It's easy to do the unimportant tasks. It's easy to say it'll work out, but if you don't do the work, it won't work out. No one is coming to rescue you, not even me. You need to do the work for the bones to heal, the muscles to grow, the wounds to knit, the knowledge to stick, the skills to stay, and the fortune to smile. You still need to do the work.

I see moments where I know you know this. You've had successes earned over long enough periods that you understand the effort involved those successes. You did the work and it worked out. This isn't any different.

Yes, It'll work out, if you do the work.