Your life is your own. Rise up and live it.
If you don't recognize it, the title comes from my favorite book series, The Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind. It states that basic fundamental principle that we all, to some extent, believe in. It is your life, it's yours to live it as you see fit. There are decisions and opportunities just waiting for you to find them. Get off your lazy butt and go get them.
You have no right to complain if you wallow in complacency and no reason to whine because someone else got what you were unwilling to work for. If you want it, work for it. Most things in life aren't one of a kind and you can have what you want if you're willing to put in the time and effort it takes to obtain it. Neil Armstrong didn't just wake up one day and become an astronaut, he set a goal to become an aerospace engineer and design new aircraft. Then he became a naval aviator flying planes for the navy. He enjoyed that so much that he then became a test pilot for new aircraft. When he had worked and sacrificed to get that, he didn't stop, he set another goal and became more and eventually worked as an astronaut in the Gemini and Apollo programs at NASA. Even then, he didn't stop. He even became a professor at a university and passed on his knowledge to a new generation.
Our history is riddled with stories and events where other people made a simple decision that ultimately changed not only their lives but the lives of many others. You have an influence over others whether or not you realize it. People look at you for an example, good or bad. Yes, some of us will be denied certain opportunities due to physical or mental capabilities but there are so many other avenues that we can travel that we don't have to be disheartened by a few unfulfilled dreams. We can make new dreams, we can set new goals.
In Terry Goodkind's book, Faith of the Fallen, the main character, Richard, is captured and taken to the land of his enemy in the hope that in seeing their "enlightened" way of life he will renounce his preposterous ideals of freedom and individual worth. He is forced to live in squalor and most of what he earns doing physical labor is taken from him and given to others who cheat the system and claim to be unable to work for themselves. The Imperial Order, the antagonistic government, has complete control. If they don't think you need it, you don't get it. You are only allotted what they think you need to survive. In fact, a healthy person that is able to work is expected to work harder and longer to provide for those who can't but you can't do someone else's job when it needs to be done because then you're taking away from them their right to earn a living. This is best exemplified in the story by a cart driver who can't help load or unload his cart because that's not what his job is. If the person that has been hired to unload the cart is sick, the cart sits there till he gets back. They had to go to meetings where people would stand and explain why they couldn't work and needed help and everyone else was expected to give them something out of the little that they already had. Those who didn't were reported as insurrectionists and accused of some trumped up charge and held until they could either pay a fine or they 'confessed' to a more serious crime and were executed.
I doubt Richard would have balked at doing the sick persons job then making sure they were able to return to work or had the medicine they needed to get better but the Imperial Order took what he had rightfully earned and gave it to someone else completely unrelated to the line of work he was forced to do. Richard recognizes the demoralizing effect that this way of life has on the citizens of that nation. It wasn't life, it was slavery but they had lived with it so long that they didn't recognize that they were slaves working for the benefit of those who were in charge. The leaders and supervisors all had the nicest homes and the best food because they were the servants of the people and they needed the best in order to serve, while the population that actually did the work had to stand in lines to get their food and weren't even guaranteed to get any. Bakers could only bake so much bread so that they didn't take work away from other bakers. The best bread went to the government while the general population either had to deal with maggoty bread or none at all. Watery soup with cabbage as the main ingredient was the main diet.
How much work a man could do wasn't based on his personal ability, it was based on the needs of his neighbors. and when he is pressed into carving a statue for the temple that is to depict the suffering of man that is their lot in life, he rebels and instead carves a poignant and stunning example of the majesty of man. Carved along the base is the phrase I used for the title of this post, "Your life is your own, rise up and live it."
Your actions, or lack thereof, will be the legacy that you pass on to future generations. Will you be remembered as someone who had a zest for life and was always looking for the next opportunity and challenge? Will you be the person who people look up to and say, "I'd like to be like him/her?" Or, will you take the easy path and be remembered as someone who depended on others to provide for their every need, who was a burden to their family and friends, or only do that which is necessary for your own survival, ignoring the need for service and human companionship?
You have no right to complain if you wallow in complacency and no reason to whine because someone else got what you were unwilling to work for. If you want it, work for it. Most things in life aren't one of a kind and you can have what you want if you're willing to put in the time and effort it takes to obtain it. Neil Armstrong didn't just wake up one day and become an astronaut, he set a goal to become an aerospace engineer and design new aircraft. Then he became a naval aviator flying planes for the navy. He enjoyed that so much that he then became a test pilot for new aircraft. When he had worked and sacrificed to get that, he didn't stop, he set another goal and became more and eventually worked as an astronaut in the Gemini and Apollo programs at NASA. Even then, he didn't stop. He even became a professor at a university and passed on his knowledge to a new generation.
Our history is riddled with stories and events where other people made a simple decision that ultimately changed not only their lives but the lives of many others. You have an influence over others whether or not you realize it. People look at you for an example, good or bad. Yes, some of us will be denied certain opportunities due to physical or mental capabilities but there are so many other avenues that we can travel that we don't have to be disheartened by a few unfulfilled dreams. We can make new dreams, we can set new goals.
In Terry Goodkind's book, Faith of the Fallen, the main character, Richard, is captured and taken to the land of his enemy in the hope that in seeing their "enlightened" way of life he will renounce his preposterous ideals of freedom and individual worth. He is forced to live in squalor and most of what he earns doing physical labor is taken from him and given to others who cheat the system and claim to be unable to work for themselves. The Imperial Order, the antagonistic government, has complete control. If they don't think you need it, you don't get it. You are only allotted what they think you need to survive. In fact, a healthy person that is able to work is expected to work harder and longer to provide for those who can't but you can't do someone else's job when it needs to be done because then you're taking away from them their right to earn a living. This is best exemplified in the story by a cart driver who can't help load or unload his cart because that's not what his job is. If the person that has been hired to unload the cart is sick, the cart sits there till he gets back. They had to go to meetings where people would stand and explain why they couldn't work and needed help and everyone else was expected to give them something out of the little that they already had. Those who didn't were reported as insurrectionists and accused of some trumped up charge and held until they could either pay a fine or they 'confessed' to a more serious crime and were executed.
I doubt Richard would have balked at doing the sick persons job then making sure they were able to return to work or had the medicine they needed to get better but the Imperial Order took what he had rightfully earned and gave it to someone else completely unrelated to the line of work he was forced to do. Richard recognizes the demoralizing effect that this way of life has on the citizens of that nation. It wasn't life, it was slavery but they had lived with it so long that they didn't recognize that they were slaves working for the benefit of those who were in charge. The leaders and supervisors all had the nicest homes and the best food because they were the servants of the people and they needed the best in order to serve, while the population that actually did the work had to stand in lines to get their food and weren't even guaranteed to get any. Bakers could only bake so much bread so that they didn't take work away from other bakers. The best bread went to the government while the general population either had to deal with maggoty bread or none at all. Watery soup with cabbage as the main ingredient was the main diet.
How much work a man could do wasn't based on his personal ability, it was based on the needs of his neighbors. and when he is pressed into carving a statue for the temple that is to depict the suffering of man that is their lot in life, he rebels and instead carves a poignant and stunning example of the majesty of man. Carved along the base is the phrase I used for the title of this post, "Your life is your own, rise up and live it."
Your actions, or lack thereof, will be the legacy that you pass on to future generations. Will you be remembered as someone who had a zest for life and was always looking for the next opportunity and challenge? Will you be the person who people look up to and say, "I'd like to be like him/her?" Or, will you take the easy path and be remembered as someone who depended on others to provide for their every need, who was a burden to their family and friends, or only do that which is necessary for your own survival, ignoring the need for service and human companionship?
posted by The Shigihara Saga at
9:19 AM
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