I've always liked war stories. No, I'm not a sadist but it's often interesting to see how people react in times of extreme opposition. And I'm particularly interested in the Japanese involvement during World War II. So anyway, I was just flipping through my books and I saw this excerpt which caught my attention.
'I love the story of the kamikaze pilot, who flew in World War II for the Japanese air force. He was interview by a newspaper reporter after returning from his fiftieth mission. The reporter asked the pilot if he wasn't a contradiction in terms. How can someone be a kamikaze pilot -whose mission is to fly to military bases and give up his life in the process - and still be alive after fifty missions?
"Well, it's like this", the pilot responded. "I was very involved. Not very committed, but very involved." '
That's the funny thing about us. We want the best of everything and yet, none of the strings attached. We want to eat the biggest bar of chocolate but we don't want to strive to shed the pounds after that. We want to have Jessica Alba's/(guys you fill in the blanks) body but we don't want to get up from the couch with our chips. We want money but not the work. We want the results without the studying. We want instant gratification but none of the responsibility.
We want to commit to nothing, but yet complain when we say our lives feel meaningless!
But here's the thing. In the words of Martin Luther King Jr., 'If you haven't found something worth dying for, you aren't fit to be living'.
What are your principles in life? No, I'm not talking about your beliefs. I'm talking about your convictions. What the difference?
Belief is what you hold on to but conviction is what holds on to you.
It's the driving force behind your life. It's the reason for all your priorities you place. Your beliefs get you from one pit stop to another pit stop in life but your conviction is the fuel which drives the car through the journey.
And guess what? Your convictions, your principles (or the lack of them) not only impact you, but others as well.
Years ago, a boy grew up in a Jewish home, watching everything his father did. Evidently, his dad didn't realize the influence he had. They attended a synagogue until their family moved to another city and there was no synagogue nearby. Dad decided to just switch religious beliefs. He admitted it was only a way of meeting business contacts anyway. This father's failure to live by values outside of his own benefit led his son to question morality, ethics and his faith. As the boy grew, he believed religion was a 'crutch' for the masses. He wrote that money was behind anything meaningful in the world.
His name?
Karl Marx and he led millions of people into a destructive belief system during the 20th century.
Such a pity his father didn't have his own personal convictions about what to live for. As a result, his priorities were out of order and his actions inadvertedly caused a chain reaction. A chain reaction whose consequences we still see until today.
But take heart.
And read what does happen when you take a stand for what is right.
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