First Draft with edits in red: 

When thinking about Perseverance, I find it funny that what resonates strongest with me is a scene from The Empire Strikes Back.  Luke’s ship starts to sink into the quagmire, and Yoda admonishes him with the fact that he can lift it out.  “Do or do not; there is no try” he tells Luke.  Failing to succeed, Yoda does lift the ship, with Luke’s disbelief clearly spoken “I don’t believe it.”  Unable to succeed in raising the ship himself, Yoda does, with Luke’s disbelief clearly spoken in his remark “I don’t believe it.”  Yoda’s reply: “That is why you fail.”

Recently, I’ve had very good reason to get to know Perseverance on a personal level.  My husband and a few of my friends all ride motorcycles.  And I’ve always wanted to.  Back in high school (so many years ago that I really don’t want to admit it), I did have a MoPed (a motorized bicycle for those that do not know), so I decided to take the Basic Motorcycle Safety course offered here in California and get my license and join the crowd.  The class was 2-part:  one part classroom and one part riding.  The classroom was easy, almost a no-brainer for anyone with common sense (or would that be Wisdom?)  It was the riding part that was the problem.  You see, I’d never driven anything that used a clutch or shift – this was all brand new to me.  And the class was going much too fast for my poor brain.  Realizing that the best thing for me to do was to bow out for the time being (and showing the Courage to do what was best for me) and come back after I’ve had a bit more time working on the ‘shifting’ thing.  I can hear you saying “Ok, so you’ve exhibited Wisdom and Courage, but Perseverance?”

The Perseverance is that I am not giving up.  I will ride.  It may take time; I may start with a freeway-legal scooter versus something that requires shifting, or I may just get a bike that I can use to practice on.  I am still weighing my options.  But I will ride.  As Henry David Thoreau says “What people say you cannot do, you try and find that you can.” (359 words)