defeat

"I could take the beatings and the physical punishment, but it was the attempt to destroy your dignity, to make you a nonentity, that was the hardest thing to bear." -Louis Zamperni== Held prisoner by the Japanese, WW II. He endured sadistic punishment by his guard and life was almost unbearable, but he refused to surrender to defeat.   When released, he learned he had been reported dead. He lived another 69 years. He was 97 when he died.-- Put along side this a quote from Maya Angelou: "We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated." 

I find these words bearing a message that is worth pausing and listening…..