Nothing good gets away

I was talking with a friend this weekend when, in response to their refreshingly brave outlook on a transitional period in their life, I was spurred to recall this gem of a quote from John Steinbeck:

And don’t worry about losing. If it is right, it happens — The main thing is not to hurry. Nothing good gets away.

The quote is taken from the correspondence with his eldest son Thom, who in 1958 wrote to his father for advice on a girl named Susan with whom he had fallen desperately in love while at boarding school. And while it stands completely on its own two feet, Maria Popova captures the essence perfectly when she writes, “Steinbeck’s words of wisdom — tender, optimistic, timeless, infinitely sagacious — should be etched onto the heart and mind of every living, breathing human being.”

What captivates me most about Steinbeck’s words here is that it presents a certain call to arms, a duality seemingly at odds with itself. On the one hand, it provides reassurance, an invitation to lay down your armor, to let go of your defenses. On the other hand, it calls you to be brave, to have faith in what you can’t know and to charge ahead. There’s something remarkably uplifting about that.

And I would also proffer that this need not only apply to love, but also to all those other aspects of life that cause us anxiety, discontentment, or sadness—when the blueprint overlay of what we desire has yet to overlap with the reality of our now.

So take heart. Be brave. Nothing good gets away.

John