The Old Man and the Sea

I just finished reading Ernest Hemmingway's The Old Man and the Sea. To say it was phenomenal would be an understatement.

For those who haven't read it, the old man goes far out to sea - farther than he's ever gone - and catches an enormous, 18 foot marlin. The marlin drags him across the ocean for two days before the old man finally reels him in. As he sets sail for home, the defeated behemoth in tow, he realizes that the wounds of the fish have attracted sharks. After a third day of sailing and having defeated dozens of sharks with nothing more than a stick, he arrives home to find that the entire fish has been eaten by those sharks.

What's beautiful is that it doesn't matter. The victory was in the fight, not in the prize. I absolutely love this story.

I identify very clearly with the old man. I feel right now as though my big fish, my dreams, are 100 fathoms in front of me, dragging me out to sea and it's all I can do to hold on for the ride. Hemmingway says it several times throughout the text, that a man is created for the fight. He adapts, he suffers, he fights. "A man may be destroyed but can never be defeated." (paraphrased)

In the end, the man dies (not stated explicitly, but. . . whatev). This is not sad. Just as it's not sad that the fish was lost. Though utterly destroyed, the old man was not defeated.

I refuse to be defeated.

I don't know where God is taking me, but I resolve here and now to grasp that line and hold it fast until I find out.

I'm feeling encouraged.
Thanks for listening,
The Revolution

Maybe we could all learn something at Delphi

γνῶθι σεαυτόν
"Know Thyself"

The first words of advice given to any person entering the temple of the oracle at Delphi.
Before any true growth may take place, before any purpose can be fulfilled, before anyone may be taken seriously, one must know himself.

Certainly an even greater, more potent division than saved-unsaved or Kingdom of God v. Kingdom of Man, the separation between those who have truly and clearly faced themselves, with all wounds and deficiencies in tow, and those who have not ventured into the depths of the soul, with it's many and storied aspects, defines two very different approaches to life and two very different outcomes.

I have determined that it is the difference between those that I will trust and those that I will not. In the words of John Eldredge, "I don't trust a man who hasn't suffered; I don't let a man get close to me who hasn't faced his wound."

Those who find it sufficient to see thier wounds. . . see their deep, ingrained troubles. . . those that were probably given to them, a prize of heritage. . . and turn around as if they might be buried in a grave next to those inevitably abandoned hopes and experiences of bygone days, are cowards. They will never affect this world positively.
My Grandfather did this. He was a good man, a Methodist minister. He did countless good for his communities, his region, the poor and destitute, etc. To my knowledge, he never faced his wounds. He never faced his father. I cannot accept that all of the good he did in service balances out the 7 divorces, 7 affairs that he and his children went through. I cannot say, with full belief, that he affected this world positively.

I don't want to be like that.

I want to go more into the soul. What makes me who I am? Is it my fault? Does it matter? Aaron's opinoin: Whether nature or nurture, we are who we are because of other people. We are given freewill and may adapt, change, reposition, but who we are, the issues we deal with, is a result of other people's actions, personalities, genes, etc.

The only fault of mine would be to be that coward who turns around at the site of such overwhelming baggage. (why is it overwhelming? Because it was created by the multitudes and burdens only one man. . . )

Aaron's opinoin: There are those who do see their problems and understand them implicitly, yet find meaning in the blame. "If it is not my fault, I do not have to worry about it." WRONG. We must carry our baggage, there is no escape. The blame doesn't matter. The baggage does.

I have heard far too many sermons preaching that Jesus will take your baggage and your burdens and lighten the load. THAT'S NONSENSE!!!!! Jesus never, EVER promised to make your problems disappear. IF HE DID, HE WAS WRONG. Guilt, maybe. Temptation and sin, maybe. Worry and discouragement, maybe. Self-esteem problems, maybe. . . for now. Your deep-seeded wounds and baggage. . . the kind of stuff that affects your personality and every action. . . NO. The baggage matters, THE WOUNDS MATTER!!

In closing, deal with your shit or leave me alone (excuse the french.) I don't ask that everyone be perfectly healed and on their way, but only that we all be in the process of discovering, addressing, healing or making use of our wounds.


Love,
The Mother F'n Revolution