Friday, February 12, 2010

The Man in the Arena

I discovered this the other day and loved it! It’s from a speech by Roosevelt called "The Man in the Arena" check it out:

"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."
So what can one possibly add to that? Here is a measly attempt at unpacking deeper meaning: For me, the man in the arena is a gladiator because let’s face it, Russell Crowe made the gladiator the hottest hero ever! After reading this extract I thought to myself, I have two options here; I can sit on the sideline and watch life happen. I can turn away in fear as I see people collide with each other and make a mess of each other’s lives, I can wince in pain as I see the wounds they cause each other and vow never to make the same mistakes. On the other hand, I can join in with the game; I can face, though in fear and uncertainty, the starved lion pouncing for my neck. I can scream in pain as a sword pierces my very muscular bicep and I can stand victorious with the people I stood alongside in this battle called life( that was cheesy!), because that is the beauty of living. Without battle wounds, we have no stories to tell. Without failed attempts, we have no way of knowing our true potential. Without all these experiences, good or bad, well- life is no fun!
May you dare greatly; may you live your life to the fullest and may you have battle scars that tell of great adventures!

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