Steven made a comment the other day in response to a post of mine. He said we should "live life to the hilt - a great swordfighting metaphor, but living to the hilt means getting seriously stabbed now and then."
Immediately a passage from a book came to mind. Again, I reference "Wild at Heart" by John Eldredge. Eldredge does such a masterful job at drawing from others' commentary about whatever subject he's dealing with.
We're entering the story towards the end - one of the last chapters. Eldredge is speaking about how to fight; what happens when a man resolves to become a warrior. And he draws from another author's insights -
"The most dangerous man on earth is the man who has reckoned with his own death. All men die; few men ever really live. Sure, you can create a safe life for yourself...and end your days in a rest home babbling on about some forgotten misfortune. I'd rather go down swinging. Besides, the less we are trying to 'save ourselves,' the more effective a warrior we can be. Listen to G.K. Chesterton on courage:
Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die. "He that will lose his life, the same shall save it," is not a piece of mysticism for saints and heroes. It is a piece of everyday advice for sailors or mountaineers. It might be printed in an Alpine guide or a drill book. The paradox is the whole principle of courage; even of quite earthly or quite brutal courage. A man cut off by the sea may save his life if he will risk it on the precipice. He can only get away from death by continually stepping within an inch of it. A soldier surrounded by enemies, if he is to cut his way out, needs to combine a strong desire for living with a strange carelessness about dying. He must not merely cling to live, for then he will be a coward, and will not escape. He must not merely wait for death, for then he will be a suicide, and will not escape. He must seek his life in a spirit of furious indifference to it; he must desire life like water yet drink death like wine."
Nothing needs to be added to that. Nothing.
9 comments:
Dittos, J. You'll never go wrong quoting John Eldredge!
steven - you got that right, thanks for making me remember that passage!
cliff - eldredge writes Christian "inspiration" books, i guess is how you'd put it. although i hate saying it like that, because i've never liked a "Christian inspiration" book that i even remotely liked before. so his insights, arguments, and tales are quite different from anything i've ever read. regardless of your faith, it's something i'd recommend to anyone due simply to the different outlook it gives.
i whole-heartedly agree with GKC there. He had such insight. And kudos to Eldredge for being able to bring together so many different authors and movies and other examples in his quest to write about how a man is really wired to think, act, and just be a man: Wild at Heart.
J- whether you ever do anything that is scary or challenging like mountaineering or ocean sailing or rock-climbing or not, be "en-couraged" that you can live with courage to face each day as if it were the only day you have.
Cliff- as you can see, J,Steven, and i all like John Eldredge. His books are to me books that inspire me to be a man the way I believe God made us to be; not milque-toast or Walter Middy-like nice boys with unfulfilled dreams, but as men who know who we are and what our strengths are. I hope you get a chance to read one of his books and enjoy it.
dang it, how do I attach a lion's roar to the comments!?
It's not a Christian book, but "Go Rin No Sho" by Miyamoto Musashi is a good read.
"Generally speaking, the Way of the warrior is resolute acceptance of death."
dennis - i, too, think GKC is on to something there. if you really sit and ponder what he's said, it's totally true. and you're right, your life doesn't have to include dangerous sports or activities to "be alive". there are opportunties every day, if you know where to look for them.
3 - i truly, truly wish that more women (and men, for that matter) understood what you just put into words. it's not about putting people into roles. a man is a man and a woman is a woman. we were made differently and we each have characteristics and qualities that the other cannot emulate. we were made for each other.
morbid - that's a great quote right there. i kinda don't like saying Eldredge's books are "Christian" books (although at their core, they are) because i think A LOT of people could gain A LOT from reading his stuff. i don't care if you believe in God or not - you will be a better person for having read them.
haha.....my response to "3" was meant to be for "e"
JT - they absolutely are
but isn't that the point??
i mean, what would anything be worth, if it were a sure bet?
the things in life that we value the most are always gained by some sort of risk - that's the key
"live life to the hilt - a great swordfighting metaphor, but living to the hilt means getting seriously stabbed now and then."
Great quote. Great post. And John Eldredge (and Stasi Eldredge) rock!
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