Invictus
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.
I'm pretty obsessed with this poem. It's always been a favorite. I love the cadence, I love the imagery. I love the power of it. This poem inspires me, and I hear Braveheart music playing in my heart whenever I read it. Now I don't necessarily agree with everything in the poem, but its a call.
It is the horn of Rohan calling the Rohirrin (me) out of complacency and mediocrity into adventure and passion. This scene gets me every time:
Sometimes we all need a little inspiration pick-me-up. After a long work week, when the heart is weary and worn, we need this. This moment of decision. The decision to live FULLY right now. I've already talked about how I live in a fantasy world, but this is simply letting in some of the characteristics of the fairy tale into the true story. It's so worth it!
Fight the good fight, finish the race, and keep the faith! (paraphrased from 2 Tim 4:7)
This life is beautiful and tragic and awe-inspiring. You don't have to go to the movies all the time to be reminded of glory- you can choose to live it out every day! As a Christian I am called to this, and as humans we get to experience this stunning world in ways no other living thing can. It's your life! Go LIVE IT!
So go out an conquer this weekend! Do all your chores, or do none! Get ahead on your homework, or procrastinate! (actually don't do that). Go outside and breathe and be alone, or spend the weekend with real, living, thinking human beings! Get off your computer and go talk to a face! Put down the remote and pick up a book! Call your family and email a friend! Worship God besides Sunday morning! Watch the Superbowl, or just enjoy the food, commercials and national anthem like me! Don't spend any money, or decide to blow a little bit of extra cash! Don't STRESS!
THAT is how we live out an epic, inspired life. Relationships, experiences, Truth. Go get drunk on that this weekend. And your Monday will be like a new opportunity instead of a hangover.
And you can take THAT to the bank!
(...but only if it's SunTrust...since I'm a banker there now....and only if you let me open your account..)
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