In last week’s blog article I looked at a quote from the movie Braveheart where the main character William Wallace says, ‘every man dies, not every man truly lives.’ Last week I discussed the first part of the quote and focused on the reality that every man (and woman) dies. There are seasons when the reality of death is brought more to our attention as friends and family members either die or are close to death. It is in those seasons that we need to ask ourselves, what can I learn from death?
I think the most important thing that I have learned from facing the reality of death is that for whatever time I have left I have a responsibility to focus on what is truly important to me. I want to ask myself questions like, what kind of person do I want to be, and, what kind of legacy do I want to leave?
With those questions in mind, I want to address the second half of William Wallace’s quote, not every man truly lives.
Not Every Man Truly Lives
So the question that confronts me is; what is a life that is truly worth living? For William Wallace, his life was given for the cause of freedom; “They may take away our lives, but they’ll never take our freedom!” Wallace chose to die fighting for the freedom of his countrymen. It was his choice and it is what brought him life. This reminds me of a verse in the Bible that says, “This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses…that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses, now choose life.” The reference to blessings and curses identifies the choice I have to focus on either the good and valuable things in my life, which I call my sacred truths, or, to focus on the difficult, negative things in my life, which I will call my shadow truths.
Choose Life
A life that is truly worth living is one that chooses to focus on my sacred truths. These sacred truths are discovered in my internal qualities, gifts and values and how I ultimately express those qualities, gifts and values in a life filled with meaning and purpose.
These sacred truths come together in my contract statement. It says that, I am a confident, worthy man of faith, inspiring others to experience their true authentic selves through my creativity, intuition and wisdom. I came up with a more spontaneous statement in the Exceptional Life Program last year that goes like this; I am a confident, worthy man of faith, setting the captives free to BE.
Some of my all time favorite movies like The Matrix, Braveheart, The Lord of the Rings and Gladiator are all movies that depict a struggle for freedom. The main characters are all individuals that are evolving as people as they fight for their personal freedom and the freedom of those they love and care about. My heart absolutely resonates with this theme because fighting for my own freedom and the freedom of others is what sparks my passion and brings me life. I am very conscious every time I stand in front of a room full of people going through a program that we are all in a struggle for our lives and the choices we make in those days together will either be for life or for death. What do you choose?
I want to give tribute to a dear friend who died this past week. Her name was Jan Ward and she reminded Christine and me that even in the face of death she chose life. I asked her for a message to pass along to those of us who carry on. She said; ‘seek out personal peace through gratitude’. She paused for a minute and then said, and don’t forget to celebrate life. These are the sacred truths that carried Jan through a meaningful, purpose filled life.
Thanks Jan for modeling what it looks like to choose life.
Terry
