What is perseverance? It seems to be a certain metaphysical condition universally subsisting simultaneously in 3 necessary modes: acceptance of the past, endurance of the present, and preparation for the future.
To accept, seems to be predicated upon forgiveness. What has happened, cannot be changed, it is etched in time and written. Whether we wrote it, or were the ones who read and suffered it, forgiveness of ourselves, or of the other author seem to determine whether we are shaped by the past or defined by it.
To endure, seems to be predicated upon the will. Am I willing to continue to act in this moment? Or continue to be defined by some long gone event? The only way for the affections of my soul to be actualized, assuming they are not contrary to my nature, is by direct operation of my own free will. It is a choice to get up today. It is a choice to work. It is a choice to pray. It is a choice to serve. It is a choice to study. It is a choice to build. It is a choice to understand and communicate. Unwillingness of the above is when destruction and chaos enter in.
To prepare, seems to be the quiet act of respect to the contingent reality of what may or may not be. One who prepares does not control the outcome; rather, he positions himself for it. In positioning, one seems to bastion his soul for tomorrow’s acceptance of today, tomorrow’s endurance of then, and the preparation beyond.
Therefore, perseverance must be an accepting, enduring, and perpetually preparing mode of operation for the rational soul to proactively, not reactively fight against metaphysical despair, and existential crises.
EAR