The first thing that leapt to mind when I thought about this 12th "Ity" was that you can translate tenacity into bullheadedness. And is that a good thing?
To keep it personal: I am nothing if not tenacious. But that could prove to be my achilles heel as well. When does tenacity turn into a stubborn refusal to face facts and let go of a bad situation?
(Right. Before all of you start merrily guessing about what on earth I am talking about, I will not lift up a tip of the veil. Ha!
Sorry. Some things are better kept private.)
Back on track: tenacity. It can be a very good thing. It means you do not give up very easily, that you hold on, that you are determined. You are prepared to make a stand, even.
And it can apply to all sorts of things. Your work. Your health. A skill. Your life.
Which again leads to a leap of the mind:
I've had a notification of someone's suicide four times in my life now.
The first thing that jagged through my head every time like a bolt of lightning was the question why?
Of these four, three persons were not terminally ill. They had loving people around them. All three had not reached their 50's yet.
One did have a terminal stage of cancer. He clung to life with a tenacity and a zest that was great to behold. But when the cancer returned, after a respite of 7 years, he decided to take the matters into his own hands. He was as determined in this as he had been in living life to the max. The same day he was told the terrible news that the cancer had returned, he ended his life.
I do not judge.
I question. What triggers one person to hang on to life with tenacity, and the other to want to end it just as tenaciously?
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