Community, the Crow, and Perseverance

Last week, while perusing the Wall Street Journal and catching up on some of the most intense news of recent history, I happened upon a quote by English author John Donne which goes something like this: “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent.”

Although I’ve heard this quote many a time, it really resonated with me this go-around. It reminded me that even in moments of chaos, we are not alone in our emotions and decisions; we are part of a whole community. Whether you identify community as a continent, or locality, or one of your personal networks,  communities are there to ease our fears, lift us up in the midst of difficulty, and help us gain perseverance.

The past several months have been fraught with difficult decisions on local and national levels, decisions that have created a flood of impact, both high and low, in the financial markets, politics, and the media. In moments like these, we can choose to either let the maelstrom derail us completely, or, together, we can persevere and stay on course.

One of my favorite examples of perseverance is that old fable about the crow and the water pitcher. In that story, the crow was met with a thirst that parched him for several days until he finally stumbled upon a pitcher with a little bit of water in the bottom.  Unbeknownst to the crow, the water was beyond the reach of his beak. After many failed attempts at pushing the pitcher over, he began plopping tiny pebbles into the bottom, one-by-one, to raise the water level. Through ingenuity and determination, he was finally able to quench his thirst.

At Financial Synergies we know that the relationships we have with our clients are, themselves, a community, built on mutual understanding and trust. We are here to be your advocate and provide the tools necessary to persevere through even your most stressful times. We are all a piece of the continent, working together to build greater financial success and better lives.