Given the uniqueness of each of us, it should not be surprising that one of the greatest challenges is to inhabit your own individuality and to discover which life-form best expresses it.*
John O’Donohue

You cannot be a hero unless you are prepare everything; there is no ascent to the heights without a prior descent into darkness, no new life without some form of death.**
Karen Armstrong

I have mentioned the five elemental truths^
on a few occasions recently,
And this morning found myself contemplating their opposites,
Perhaps,
Life should be fun;
You’re special;
Live your life your way;
Don’t give up control;
Don’t think about death.
The hero, though, is born
by completing the truths^ in
gritty yet elegant ways, until
they have the power to let go and
let come.
This won’t read like a hero to many,
And that’s the thing –
Heroes don’t look like we expect them to,
They’re just ordinary people trying to live their lives
for others.

The boundary lines have fallen for me
in pleasant places;
I have a goodly heritage.^^

*John O’Donohue’s Benedictus;
**Karen Armstrong’s A Short History of Myth;
^Life is hard; You’re not as special as you think; Your life is not about you; You’re to in control; You’re going to die;
^^Psalm 16:6)