I just have to relate this great story, which is taught to all the school children in the United Kingdom, which teaches that winners never quit, and quitters never win. Have you heard the story about Robert the Bruce?

This legendary figure, who ultimately became Robert I of Scotland, was born in 1274, the son of an Anglo-Norman family that had royal Scottish blood in them. He was a contemporary of William Wallace, who was portrayed by Mel Gibson in Braveheart.

The defeat of the French in 1296 by the English, led by Edward I, also known as Longshanks, meant that the throne of Scotland was essentially up for grabs. Edward despised Scotland and it was his lifelong ambition to annex it. Upon this action, Wallace managed to unite most of Scotland and began a series of vicious battles against the English. Robert the Bruce initially sided with Wallace, but eventually switched to England, and pledged his allegiance to Edward. In 1305, William Wallace snuck back into England, but was recognised and arrested. He was tried and found guilty of being a criminal of the state. Subsequently he was hung, drawn and quartered a truly grisly death. Each quarter of his body was taken to a corner of England and put on display; a warning to any other would be rebels. Robert was forced to watch his former friend being tortured, and this cruelty stirred the patriotism within him, and he then switched back to the side of the Scots, and was eventually crowned King of Scotland in the spring of 1306.

The following year Longshanks sent his army to Scotland once more to reclaim the crown and punish Robert the Bruce. The Bruce was subsequently deposed and forced to flee to the Highlands... and Robert's wife and daughter were imprisoned, and three of his brothers were executed. It was while retreating - defeated and in tatters - that an event occurred that has become the thing of legend. While hiding in a cave, Robert the Bruce observed a spider struggling and failing to reach its web. He associated it with his own struggle to reclaim his homeland, and vowed like the spider to continue trying. This is the source of the saying, "Try, try again."

Anyway, in the decisive battle of 1314, Longshanks sent a massive army, twice the size of Scotlands, to finally crush them. They rode with an air of over confidence highlighted by poor preparations and celebrating victory before the battle had taken place. The Scottish on the other hand, planned meticulously and spent the night in silent meditation. The next day the Battle of Bannockburn was won by the Scots, and is considered to be their greatest ever victory against the English. With his spirit renewed, two years and many battles later, Robert the Bruce had regained most of the land that the English had claimed and had regained the Scottish sovereignty.

Moral of the story:

I think that the spider is key. This spider teaches us that in nature, creatures do not feel depressed, do not have self-pity, do not EVER give up. To be indefagitable is to be intrinsically natural. To some, it looks like hope, but I think that true spirit is beyond hope, it is marked by the attitude that the possibility of giving up simply does not exist. I believe that in Taoism, which is the art of being truly natural for humans, "wu wei" does not mean inaction or laziness, it means that your mental clatter is gone, that the thing you need to have done, gets done, with the absolute minimum of internal doubt, despair, clatter or futzing about. Just do it.