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Life in the arena

Several things have been coursing through my mind of late, and it deals with life and what really matters.  As I veer toward my 56th birthday, with the big 60 looming on the horizon I find myself mulling over what life really means and how could I make it more meaningful.  Is what i am doing and saying and living really the life I should be living?  The number of years left on this great  earth I fear are now less than the number that I have already lived.  So what will I do with the time remaining?  Will I squander it on useless activities that have no meaning?  Will I spend my moments in banter that leads only to frustration and anger, or will I  use my time and life to build, to dream and to live out those dreams.  Will I speak death into the lives of others or will I become a breath of life to those I encounter?

This past year in both politics and sports have been instrumental in changing my mind about so much.   In the realm of politics  it was tiring to hear talking heads on both sides spout their views and criticisms of candidates, ideas and motivations.  And yet in my mind, most of their thoughts and ideas rung hollow in light of their lack of actual involvement in life and politics.  It is one thing to attempt change and implement ideas by involving oneself in the mix, rather than spouting critiques and barbs while standing behind a microphone and puffing a cigar or claiming the unrighteousness of not caring for the poor and oppressed while pulling in a multi million dollar salary.

In the realm of sports i have found myself so tired of the arena of armchair quarterbacks and coaches whose commitments to the young men and women who do battle in the arena are as fleeting as morning frost on an october southern morning.  When all is well they are happy and elated, but once the loss column begins to fill up, the passion and commitment turns to criticism and hatred. 

As the gray hair begins to dominate, and the aches and pains of a life lived begins to remind me of my destiny and my mortality, I have become passionate about living life to the fullest.  What that means to each individual is vastly different.  To one person it may be climbing the highest mountains around the earth, to others it may mean a goal of hiking all the trails in the smokies, or quitting the pursuit of a fully funded 401K and giving your life to stopping human  trafficking, or feeding orphans or simply building beautiful furniture or creating paintings that lead one to think beyond ourselves.

well how do we do that?

First step is to evaluate who influences you?  Jim Rohn famously said ” you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”  If your five closest friends or coworkers are armchair critics, then we should not be surprised when our latter years are filled with anger, criticism and sourness. Fill your life with those whose vision and ideas will lift you to a higher level of life and faith.

Second step is to evaluate where we get our ideas, is it mainly from media, from folks who only foray into real life is through the newsroom, rather than out in the world, then we should not be surprised that our lives in the latter years will be filled with anxiety and distrust as well as a  pulling the covers around us and hiding.  (I personally have gone on a news fast, totally unplugged this past year from evening news, talk shows and even weather reports one of the best things i have ever done). 

Third, have we given ourselves to understand what was meant when Jesus said “I came to give you life and to give it abundantly”.  If there is real meaning to this life why are not we experiencing it more?  All the tools and equipment are there for our use, but it begins with our world view and how we relate that to our daily lives and attitude.

The following excerpt from a now famous speech by Teddy Roosevelt says it all for me. No longer will I be content to hear from those in the safety of the stands.  I no longer want to get political vision and spiritual reality from those whose only encounter with it is the realm of ideas.  I want to pursue a life that is lived in the dust of battle, in the rough and tumble world of reality.  I want to see the world , to expand my vision, to dream dreams and then walk them out with others.  I want to use my gifts and skills and ideas in the real world, the world that hurts and cries out for justice.  The world that is seeking reality.  In a world where good and bad are at constant odds.  Where injustice takes place, but where men and women of vision and faith are doing something  to alleviate pain and suffering.  That’s the world i want to spend the remainder of my life and energy.  I want to dare greatly, to suffer the pain of reaching for the something great and something greater than myself.  

How about you?  Are you content to be a critic in the stands of life, or are you willing to live out the second act of this life in the world of the rough and tumble, of the pain and hurting, and of those who have known the sweet taste of true success.

 

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Excerpt from the speech “Citizenship In A Republic”
delivered at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France on 23 April, 1910

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