For some reason, I felt compelled to post this letter* from President Lincoln to a cadet at West Point. If it resonates with you in any way, I would very much appreciate your sharing your thoughts.
Cadet Quintin Campbell Washington D.C.
My dear Sir June 28. 1862
Your good mother tells me you are feeling very badly in your new situation. Allow me to assure you it is a perfect certainty that you will, very soon, feel better---quite happy---if you only stick to the resolution you have taken to procure a military education. I am older than you, have felt badly myself, and know, what I tell you is true. Adhere to your purpose and you will soon feel as well as you ever did. On the contrary, if you falter, and give up, you will lose the power of keeping any resolution, and will regret it all your life. Take the advice of a friend, who, though he never saw you, deeply sympathizes with you, and stick to your purpose. Sincerely your friend A. LINCOLN*
Comment from carol oharaa.
The message Lincoln sent to this young man could be said to apply to every one of us incarnated on earth today. We came here to learn, to expand our individual and collective consciousness. We each have a unique role to play in the growth of this planet. If we give into what appears to be chaos that is happening now and forsake our mission, how will we feel when we transition to the light and see what could have been if we had just stayed the course? If we go forward and seek to focus only on the light and let the chaos pass without buying into it, like the cadet we will complete our education, achieve our purpose for being here, and find a sense of accomplishment when our mission is completed and we are called back home. Thanks for sharing this!
Ann: Thank you, Carol, this comment is a gift to us all as are many of the comments on this blog. It definitely takes a village, glad you are in ours. Would love to hear other thoughts, please comment.
January 9, 2020
*ALS-F, St. Paul, Minnesota, Pioneer Press, February 12, 1909. Quintin Campbell, the son of Mrs. Lincoln's cousin Mrs. Ann Todd Campbell of Boonville, Missouri, had just entered West Point. According to the account published in the Pioneer Press, Quintin's mother wrote to Mrs. Lincoln about her son's dissatisfaction, and at his wife's suggestion Lincoln wrote this letter. Quintin graduated at West Point in 1866.
It was written in the middle of the war right after his son died on February 20, 1862.