The Grasp of Your Hand

Last month, the 18 month journey of my Leadership for State Based Advocates came to an end. I cannot begin to articulate how challenging, reaffirming, rewarding, inspiring, difficult, and life changing the experience was. That's probably for another post. 

In our last session, we were given several beautiful gifts by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, most of them leadership books. One of those books is entitled Leading from Within: Poetry that Sustains the Courage to Lead. I was straightening up my office earlier today and opened the book to a page that contained the words below. They are inspiring and timely for me and may be for you as well.

The Grasp of Your Hand

Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers,

but to be fearless in facing them.

Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain,

but for the heart to conquer it.
Let me not crave in anxious fear to be saved,
but hope for the patience to win my freedom.
Grant me that I may not be a coward, feeling Your mercy in my success alone; 
but let me find the grasp of Your hand in my failure.

-Rabindranath Tagore 

*M