You Were Not Born to Live Like Brutes

It was Odysseus who said it—Ulysses in Latin, Odysseus in Greek—and it was Dante who wrote about it in The Infe
o. This striking couplet seared into my mind and has guided me, given me much benefit, over the last 30 years of my life.

I share it with you now…

They're at war. They’ve traveled far in their ships… The ravages of war are besetting them, certain supplies are running very low, they're tired—not to mention being at risk for their lives and having to fight constantly. Their families are far, far away. The troops are beginning to sag.

Odysseus, the leader, steps up before them. And in his oration, as I remember it, he says this:

Greeks! You were not born to live like brutes, nbut to press onward toward manhood and recognition!

There you have it again. Mythically, Odysseus represents you – the individual human soul. You can rejuvenate your spirit. It comes from the inside, the Inner Eagle. Assert yourself over circumstances. “You were not born to live like brutes. “

The consequence of losing in this war, and in this fight, is they would be enslaved. They knew this; they did it to others. That's the way war is.

And that stands for you, too. Thoreau said it, “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation.” The consequences of you not finding, listening to, and unleashing your own Inner Eagle is slavery. You were not born to live like brutes… You were born to be victorious.

You were not born to live like brutes. Nobody said not to have adventures, not to get pressed with circumstances. That's the situation in the times and turmoils of war.

No, it's not about not having adventures. It's about adventurous times, times that could wear on your spirit. It’s about you. You. You call yourself up, you assert control, and press onward towards humanhood and recognition!

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