I thought I was ‘Joining a Team’ not going into a ‘Boxing Ring’!!!?
As often happens in life, stuff pops up at just the right time: I was reading the London Times today and a quote from Roosevelt, although used a different context, connected with my soul:
“The Man In The Arena” 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.”
The last five years it has definitely felt like, I was “A Man”, who has been in “An Arena”, and many times along the way, I had to take a break between rounds to wipe of the “dust, sweat and blood”…! I’ve also been trying to understand both “The Man” and ‘The Arena”…!!
Working out whether I’m deluding myself in the importance and authenticity of my personal mission? At times it has felt like I was having impact. Maybe I was in the wrong Arena? In resigning and decalring it Hopleless and me Helpless, am I fearing the REAL Arena, and its call for me to be a REAL Man?!!!
Maybe I was just shadow boxing, and those I engaged with either as readers interloctors were secretly enjoying watching me getting annihilated by my shadows…????
Ha-ha, yeah it is quite funny when one steps outside the arena, but seriousness soon returns as I realise that for me this wasn’t just a sporting, boxing match, and that with a friendly, sparring partner:
This was My Whole Life, and ‘The Game‘ and ‘The Arena‘ was ‘my world’ for five years and more!
This can be quite confusing at times.
So where is the confusion…?
I believe that my desire, mission and intent were all very simple: I wanted to be able to live in a society that has a primary moral and ethical conviction to respect and live within Nature’s restraints.
I believe, without doubt, that THIS is a Primary Condition for all Human existence, and a pre requisite for any claims of other, ‘Humanity’s Success’.
The confusion comes with how to deal with ‘The Arena‘ of Society.
And yes, unfortunately I DO see it as an ‘Arena’… It is crystal clear that ‘Society’, Doesn’t want One Point Zero, and that is the other source of confusion…
Why, do I so clearly Want ‘it’, and yet ‘society’ so clearly Doesn’t???
Read about whether it was ‘Team Humanity’ or Me who has got it Wrong?, here.