Whoever said there is no such thing as failure has lost touch with reality! Of course there is such a thing. It is in the dictionary. It means 'nonperformance of something due or expected' (Random House Dictionary). You can't gloss over the word and call it something else just because society thinks it is a dirty word. To refuse to accept the word is senseless and a product of our indulgent culture.

It had been several weeks since I last visited a favorite hunting area. It was early spring, and the new growth had just started coming up. I tried to get an early start on upkeep by weed-eating around the barn and down a rarely used road that led up the hill. I was hoping to make some progress on the maintenance that would have to be done before the next season.

You may not see how it's possible to bloom with all the problems surrounding you. It's easy to think like that because blooming in a desert is one of the most challenging task people face.