“It is defeat that turns bone to flint; it is defeat that turns gristle to muscle; "

"It is defeat that men makes invincible” - Henry Ward Beecher

This has been a bad month. It's a pattern when people enter your life, find what they were looking for and cast you aside with casual cruelty. Once upon a time that wouldn't have bothered me. I would have smiled and laughed, knowing, with certainty, that it was their loss.

Today I spent 40 minutes being verbally abused by my daughter while a therapist allowed it to happen and prevented me from responding. Now I begin to see why after 6 months in lock-up that my daughter is no better.

I am a catalyst. I change people's lives for the better. I used to enjoy it and then it hurt, now it's nothing. If it's what I do, then it's like rain and sun and snow, a part of nature beyond our control. Come or go, stand or run. I was -- I am as patient as a mountain. I am inevitable, invincible and unstoppable.
Somewhere along the line I let all this wear me down and wear me out. I didn't get to be invincible by caring what people thought or by shedding tears. I got that way by taking every blow on the chin and smiling and begging for more.

Gimme your best shot.