Hey thank you, what a wonderful comment, and a warm "hello"- always nice to meet a fellow fencer.
Sorry to hear about your knee, for sure that would have ended your fencing days fast. But at least you got to taste the thrill of the fight, which no one can take away from you.
You are right in saying it is a "hard road to follow", but I believe we are rewarded when we are older. And now that I am much older and my fencing days are long since over, I can sleep well at night from having a clean conscience.
A friend of mine is a priest,...( I am not particularly a religious man, it was a boy at school I was friends with and he just happened to become a priest and we stayed friends).
Anyways, much of his time is spent visiting the sick and the dying in hospital. Not very pleasant as you can imagine, but thats his job I guess. And he told me something that I have never forgotten and it is a little bit scary.
He told that, on average, he gives the "last rights" to about two people a week.
And so perhaps we can deduce that he has been with a thousand or more, people at the moment of their death.
And from all these people dying he noticed something.
Those who had tried to live a good life, an honorable life.. they had no fear at the end and died peacefully. But those who had cheated and harmed others died fretfully and with regret.
"It is hard to witness" He told
It was not fear of punishment or of going to hell that disturbed them, for but that they could not go back and undo the harm they had done to others.
In modern times we tend to feel there are no consequences for harming a fellow human being, as long as we dont get caught.
But if there is one thing life has shown, is that for everything we do, and everything we dont do, there are consequences.
No one as ever escaped that universal law of nature Some call it karma I heard.
And yet the answer is so simple. If we harm someone and we know we have done wrong, we just swallow our pride and say;
"Hey man, that was not good of me; I was angry and I was wrong to hurt you. Im sorry for it, I hope you can forgive me." - -Bang ! conscience cleaned again.
I for one want to die peacefully, and as I enter into the older part of my life I begin to understand my priest friend and realize the value of having tried to do the right thing and life an honorable life.
Sorry I went on a bit too long, I sensed you were someone who would understand my meaning.
A fencing salute to you @ddschteinn
Thanks for the reply. I can't say a thing about "going a bit long", as it is something I have mastered quite well ( : I feel human interaction helps the world go round.
Yes, it was not possible to continue the fencing, the leg work is so important, and when the knee won't work, it won't work. I loved the fast-twitch nature of the sport though.
I agree with the part about living well. What is that saying, something to the tune of Integrity, or Honor, is not doing what is right when people know, or are watching, but doing what is right when they are NOT watching. Might have butchered it there, but the idea is the same.
That would have been a very hard job your friend had, yet rewarding. And I can see where those things all ring true. Conscience, and karma are all tied together. I believe very strongly in Karma. And pride...I've never had a problem with that one. Over time in life, and NOT being a martial arts expert, I've swallowed that MANY a time, to keep from getting seriously pounded in different situations. Rather feel less prideful, and keep my teeth in place. Well, thanks for the insights, and have a great day.
You are a good man sir.
Have a good weekend and thanks again.