Human endurance is a funny thing. There is no one that doesn’t get knocked down in life, and there are as many ways to get back up as there are people in the world. The question is not “Do people deal with suffering?” but rather “How do people deal with suffering?” The way I see it there is a scale, a spectrum, if you will, that measures how people deal with the problems life throws at them. On one end there is the victim, and on the other end, the hero, or warrior.
The victim always feels sorry for himself, and never really feels the need to try to get back up after being knocked down, because whats the point? The world is a cruel place, and the odds are so stacked against the victim that he resigns himself to crawling and complaining. The only thing he is determined to do is to never put energy into hope, whether for himself or mankind. Every internal effort is futile, because every external energy is working against him. Traffic lights turn red at his approach. Colleagues purposefully turn a deaf ear to his ideas. His dog digs a hole in the yard to spite him. His children are always on the lookout for opportunities to question his authority. Everyone on earth is an idiot, and who can compete with those odds?
The hero, or warrior, is a practiced glass-half-full sort of fellow. Heck, the glass is full to the brim and overflowing most days! And why not? The God of the universe deeply cares about and actively guides the destiny of our hero. The hero knows he is not alone, and when life bombards him with difficulty, all the while he is gaining strength from the experience because he knows that later on down the road he will have an opportunity to help another person through a difficult time because he has had the opprotunity to struggle as well. He knows what its like to be broken, and he sees the beauty of hope, and how far grace will go. Our hero and warrior doesn’t just exist. He truly lives.
Which brings us to that guy in the middle. You know, that guy who goes through life, and things are sort of fine, I mean, they could be worse. Middle guy plays it safe, though. Its not good to risk anything in life. Not in relationships, or at work, or in planning the future. This guy goes with the flow, and doesn’t really get upset by things, but he doesn’t really get excited, either. Its best just to meander carefully, because running or stopping might mean falling or lying down, and its too hard to get back up from that, so the middle guy meanders, not bothering anyone. Not rocking the boat. Not doing much of anything, really. So where are you on the spectrum? I have to say I’ve been all over it. And as much as I’d like to retain hero status, I sometimes view myself as a victim. I’ve compiled a list of things that help me stay heroic, and you might find it helpful, so here ya go:
BE HEALTHY. I’ve been on a health kick recently, and two things caused that. The first was when my boyfriend picked me up. As in, lifted me off the floor and carried me around in his arms. I got such a kick out of that. The fact that I am pickupable just tickles me to death. It occurred to me that I would like to stay pickupable, so I cut way back on snackfoods. I let myself acctually get hungry between meals, and I bought salads and cucumbers instead of cheezits and cookies. Oh, and I’ve been all about green tea lately, its awesome stuff. Not tasty, but cleansing and energizing. Drink it. Anyway, yes, the second thing that caused my health kick was an article I read. I don’t remember the exact information, but the gyst was that cancer thrives in unhealthy bodies. Apparently everyone gets cancer cells, or is prone to cancer, or something like that, but cancer just loves a greasy lazy body. I suddenly wanted very much to be healthy. When you eat good foods, you feel ready to tackle the day. Heros tackle their days. It’s a thing of beauty. WORK OUT. I’ve never really worked out. I’ve had jobs that kept me active (horses, anyone?), but I had never had an intense workout plan until recently. A friend let me copy her Jillian Michaels workout videos (Thirty Day Shred, and something else, I forget) and I feel amazing, after only having done it for a couple of days. To put yourself in a position where your body and brain are at war with each other is interesting and beneficial. Your brain knows that you will look and feel great after the workout, and your body doesn’t believe in itself and wants very much to stop. So you get conversations like this going on: (Body) “I can’t finish! I need to stop! Let me be done!” (Brain) “Keep going, you can do this, push yourself!” (Body) “IT BURNS!” (Brain) “Almost done! Hang in there! Finish strong!” (Body) “AAAAAARRRRGGGHHH! YES! I DID IT!” (Brain) “Good Job!” The best part is, you walk around afterward in your muscular capable awesomeness thinking, “Bring it on, world! I can take whatever you throw at me!” Sounds like a hero to me.
DO THINGS THAT SCARE YOU. I’m not saying you should go skydiving at the first available opportunity (I’m also not saying that you shouldn’t). But don’t let life intimidate you, and don’t base your decisions on the avoidance of that awful gut-wrenching “what if I can’t do this?” feeling. What if you can? Continue riding that spastic beast that bucked you off and broke your body. Prepare for, and rock that speech! Dare to offer a comforting touch to that person who is crying their eyes out in your presence. Tell someone that THEY’RE stepping on YOUR toes! Stand in your own space and know you are there.
SPEND TIME WITH GOD. (last, and infinitely most important) Honestly, I don’t know how atheists cope with life. How are they not dashing about in a constant frenzied panic? I find that when I’ve been reading by Bible regularly and spending time in prayer and listening carefully for the guidance of the Holy Spirit and complimenting God on his mad skills with a paintbrush when I stop to admire a sunrise (why do I grumble about my job getting me out of bed so early?), then I am more relaxed and confident about life, because I am reminded of who God is. He’s not who society tells me He is after I’ve been watching a bunch of cable tv and wasting time on youtube (who wants to spend time with that guy?). He’s the God I come to trust after reading His Word and listening to His voice, and remembering that He wants whats best for me, even if His will for my life seems unfair or difficult at the time.
So there you have it my friends, the hero formula in four easy steps. Wow, that sounds terrible. I think I just wrote a mini-self help book. NOT what I set out to do. Its just that I’ve been feeling so great lately I wanted to share it with ya’ll. It seems to be a pretty great way to get through the days. Some days I feel great for absolutely no reason because life’s been rough and I haven’t been taking care of myself, and that’s when I know someone’s praying for me. That’s pretty cool, and always appreciated. Well, I’m not really sure how to wrap this up, so I’ll just say go be heroes!
(see attached youtube video. Never fails to give me goosebumps).http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGcsIdGOuZY&ob=av2e
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