Appleseed – Single Part 2
(Go read Part 1 - I'll wait here for you)
“During the whole affair, the rebels attacked us in a very scattered, irregular manner, but with perseverance and resolution, nor did they ever dare to form into a regular body. Indeed they knew too well what was proper, to do so. Whoever looks upon them as an irregular mob, will find himself very much mistaken. They have men amongst them who know very well what they are about, having been employed as rangers against the Indians and Canadians, and this country being very much covered with wood, and hilly, is very advantageous for their method of fighting.”
- Lord Hugh Percy
Once to every man and nation, comes the moment to decide,
In the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side;
Some great cause, some great decision, offering each the bloom or blight,
And the choice goes by forever, ’twixt that darkness and that light.
Then to side with truth is noble, when we share her wretched crust,
Ere her cause bring fame and profit, and ’tis prosperous to be just;
Then it is the brave man chooses while the coward stands aside,
Till the multitude make virtue of the faith they had denied.
-”Once to Every Man and Nation”, James Lowell
[I went to an “Appleseed Shoot” a couple weekends ago (4/16-4/17). Without great detail, it was a 2-day event covering rifle marksmanship fundamentals, Revolutionary War history, and admonition to be a positive force in your community. You can find more info at www.appleseedinfo.org.]
(Disclaimer: Politics and firearm ownership are often highly-charged subjects. Over the course of our discussion, I will present my life the way it is with regard to these two subjects. You don't have to agree with the way my life is, but that's not what I want to write about.)
“The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!”
- Matthew 6:22-23, KJV
God brought this verse to me the other day when I was considering the idea of “single”. I quote here the King James since other translations choose different words. The NIV chooses “healthy” for “single” and “unhealthy” for “evil”, for example. What does it mean to be “single”? My concordance defines the Greek word haplous as “from a (as a particle of union) and the base of pleko (to twist or braid) – folded together, i.e. single (figuratively clear)”.
I want my life to be single like a crystal – all one piece, all together. I want my life to have integrity – to be all the same, no matter which angle you look at me from. Only Jesus can wash away the impurity in my life and leave me “clear”.
Single can also be used in “single-minded”, a phrases that is commonly familiar. To be single-minded is to be focused on one purpose, even to the exclusion of all others. Since I am relationally-single and cannot be single-minded about a “lady in my life”, I find myself attempting to re-focus onto a single purpose. Save your discussion about focusing one's life on a significant other; I know the inherent pitfalls but edited out caveats for brevity and clarity.
As I mentioned before, shooting is often a solitary sport. I often enjoy the solitude enforced by the hearing protection. When I used to shoot competitively, our coach taught us that over 90% of a perfect shot is mental. Believing you can do it, focusing intently, and refusing to overthink your shot all increase your proficiency.
Intense mental focus has become a way of life when I shoot. When I pick up a gun, all that matters is me, my firearm, and my target. The world fades away, surrounding gunfire quiets, and I find my center, my “zone”. Shooting provides instant feedback to the idea of “as you believe, so you are” - if you believe you are no good, you won't try and your groups will be huge. If you have strong confidence (and basic skills), your shots will show it.
I showed up to the Appleseed to learn, not knowing how I might compare to other shooters or if the teaching would be relevant. I knew I should have prepared more than I did (which was none), and wondered if my lack of experience with my rifle or lack of theoretical practice/study would handicap me. As the first day progressed, though, I found my groove and the rifle skills that I had neglected for so long, and I started to find my confidence again. By the end of the day, I knew that I had an opportunity to excel if I could maintain my level of performance and implement everything I was taught. By Sunday morning, when we were to be tested on the “Quick'N'Dirty Army Qualification Test”, I felt pretty comfortable with all I had to do. The co-worker who invited me to the shoot stopped by my firing point just before we were to commence so he could make encouraging comments , which didn't add any pressure at all. (insert rolling eyes here) String of fire after string of fire were called, and I strove to shoot well as well as try to find the bullet holes on my target. Twenty-five yards was far enough that the under-quarter-inch holes were all but invisible.
All that to say that for the weekend, especially the period of the QDAQT, all that was in my mind was shooting. I was completely "single" (using our definition above) in that moment and crystal clear.
You know, I wonder about Samuel and Lydia. I imagine that as a betrothed couple, they were dedicated to each other. They were “together”, yet I imagine “single” in the sense of dedicated to each other. Definitely they were both “single” in the sense of focused on what was best for their community. It seems that the first (single-minded dedication to each other) might well be a pipe dream in today's day and age, held only by the delusional. The second, though, might be achievable in my life. I might be able to succeed at pursuing a purpose, an ideal.
To go back to Lord Percy's quote at the beginning, what am I “all about”? Appleseed encouraged me to put time and energy into my community, but what is worth getting involved? What will be the great cause of my life? Obviously Jesus and following Him has to be the foundation of my life, but what will be the rest of the house? Wilberforce had his fight against slavery, Mueller had his orphans, but what about Larson? What will become my life's work?
My current philosophy has been to pick something important to me and to do whatever is necessary to excel in it. For example, I would like to greatly improve my shooting skill this year. I took time to plan what I wanted to accomplish (attend an Appleseed, compete in an IDPA match, etc.), to lay out steps to accomplish it, then to execute them. I've purchased a few firearms in the last few months and established a model that works very well – decide a role to fill, check my budget to see what I can afford, research possibilities to fill that role, watch my local gun stores for something fitting my needs and budget, then be ready to move quickly when that appears. Of course, all worldly goals do not provide much long-term satisfaction because they are, in some sense, perishable.
Spiritual goals are much harder to fit into this model, but I'm trying. Find the deficiency to fill, decide how I could fill it and what I'm willing to sacrifice, then do it. As such, I'm investigating potential ministries to be involved in at church, attending church as often as possible to provide opportunities to hear God, and taking chances on things that may help me grow my life spiritually.
“Everybody sing like it's the last song you will ever sing
Tell me, tell me, do you feel the pressure now?
Everybody live like it's the last day you will ever see
Tell me, tell me, do you feel the pressure now?
Alright, so you think you're ready?
Okay, then you say this with me, go
We were born for this
We were born for this”
- Paramore, “Born For This”
I remain asking the question expressed in the above – what can I talk about, saying I was “born for this”?
As near as I can figure, my life is to work hard, shoot well, and love deeply. Work is challenging and provides me opportunities to excel, taking care of the first. As to the second, well, maybe this picture will answer that.
As to the third – well, that's for God to decide where I should spend my efforts. Each time I date (and love), I give of myself to watch it ripped away. But God gives (as well as takes away) and God heals and makes broken things beautiful...in His time.
What are you all about? About what can you be single-minded?
“During the whole affair, the rebels attacked us in a very scattered, irregular manner, but with perseverance and resolution, nor did they ever dare to form into a regular body. Indeed they knew too well what was proper, to do so. Whoever looks upon them as an irregular mob, will find himself very much mistaken. They have men amongst them who know very well what they are about, having been employed as rangers against the Indians and Canadians, and this country being very much covered with wood, and hilly, is very advantageous for their method of fighting.”
- Lord Hugh Percy
Once to every man and nation, comes the moment to decide,
In the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side;
Some great cause, some great decision, offering each the bloom or blight,
And the choice goes by forever, ’twixt that darkness and that light.
Then to side with truth is noble, when we share her wretched crust,
Ere her cause bring fame and profit, and ’tis prosperous to be just;
Then it is the brave man chooses while the coward stands aside,
Till the multitude make virtue of the faith they had denied.
-”Once to Every Man and Nation”, James Lowell
[I went to an “Appleseed Shoot” a couple weekends ago (4/16-4/17). Without great detail, it was a 2-day event covering rifle marksmanship fundamentals, Revolutionary War history, and admonition to be a positive force in your community. You can find more info at www.appleseedinfo.org.]
(Disclaimer: Politics and firearm ownership are often highly-charged subjects. Over the course of our discussion, I will present my life the way it is with regard to these two subjects. You don't have to agree with the way my life is, but that's not what I want to write about.)
“The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!”
- Matthew 6:22-23, KJV
God brought this verse to me the other day when I was considering the idea of “single”. I quote here the King James since other translations choose different words. The NIV chooses “healthy” for “single” and “unhealthy” for “evil”, for example. What does it mean to be “single”? My concordance defines the Greek word haplous as “from a (as a particle of union) and the base of pleko (to twist or braid) – folded together, i.e. single (figuratively clear)”.
I want my life to be single like a crystal – all one piece, all together. I want my life to have integrity – to be all the same, no matter which angle you look at me from. Only Jesus can wash away the impurity in my life and leave me “clear”.
Single can also be used in “single-minded”, a phrases that is commonly familiar. To be single-minded is to be focused on one purpose, even to the exclusion of all others. Since I am relationally-single and cannot be single-minded about a “lady in my life”, I find myself attempting to re-focus onto a single purpose. Save your discussion about focusing one's life on a significant other; I know the inherent pitfalls but edited out caveats for brevity and clarity.
As I mentioned before, shooting is often a solitary sport. I often enjoy the solitude enforced by the hearing protection. When I used to shoot competitively, our coach taught us that over 90% of a perfect shot is mental. Believing you can do it, focusing intently, and refusing to overthink your shot all increase your proficiency.
Intense mental focus has become a way of life when I shoot. When I pick up a gun, all that matters is me, my firearm, and my target. The world fades away, surrounding gunfire quiets, and I find my center, my “zone”. Shooting provides instant feedback to the idea of “as you believe, so you are” - if you believe you are no good, you won't try and your groups will be huge. If you have strong confidence (and basic skills), your shots will show it.
I showed up to the Appleseed to learn, not knowing how I might compare to other shooters or if the teaching would be relevant. I knew I should have prepared more than I did (which was none), and wondered if my lack of experience with my rifle or lack of theoretical practice/study would handicap me. As the first day progressed, though, I found my groove and the rifle skills that I had neglected for so long, and I started to find my confidence again. By the end of the day, I knew that I had an opportunity to excel if I could maintain my level of performance and implement everything I was taught. By Sunday morning, when we were to be tested on the “Quick'N'Dirty Army Qualification Test”, I felt pretty comfortable with all I had to do. The co-worker who invited me to the shoot stopped by my firing point just before we were to commence so he could make encouraging comments , which didn't add any pressure at all. (insert rolling eyes here) String of fire after string of fire were called, and I strove to shoot well as well as try to find the bullet holes on my target. Twenty-five yards was far enough that the under-quarter-inch holes were all but invisible.
All that to say that for the weekend, especially the period of the QDAQT, all that was in my mind was shooting. I was completely "single" (using our definition above) in that moment and crystal clear.
You know, I wonder about Samuel and Lydia. I imagine that as a betrothed couple, they were dedicated to each other. They were “together”, yet I imagine “single” in the sense of dedicated to each other. Definitely they were both “single” in the sense of focused on what was best for their community. It seems that the first (single-minded dedication to each other) might well be a pipe dream in today's day and age, held only by the delusional. The second, though, might be achievable in my life. I might be able to succeed at pursuing a purpose, an ideal.
To go back to Lord Percy's quote at the beginning, what am I “all about”? Appleseed encouraged me to put time and energy into my community, but what is worth getting involved? What will be the great cause of my life? Obviously Jesus and following Him has to be the foundation of my life, but what will be the rest of the house? Wilberforce had his fight against slavery, Mueller had his orphans, but what about Larson? What will become my life's work?
My current philosophy has been to pick something important to me and to do whatever is necessary to excel in it. For example, I would like to greatly improve my shooting skill this year. I took time to plan what I wanted to accomplish (attend an Appleseed, compete in an IDPA match, etc.), to lay out steps to accomplish it, then to execute them. I've purchased a few firearms in the last few months and established a model that works very well – decide a role to fill, check my budget to see what I can afford, research possibilities to fill that role, watch my local gun stores for something fitting my needs and budget, then be ready to move quickly when that appears. Of course, all worldly goals do not provide much long-term satisfaction because they are, in some sense, perishable.
Spiritual goals are much harder to fit into this model, but I'm trying. Find the deficiency to fill, decide how I could fill it and what I'm willing to sacrifice, then do it. As such, I'm investigating potential ministries to be involved in at church, attending church as often as possible to provide opportunities to hear God, and taking chances on things that may help me grow my life spiritually.
“Everybody sing like it's the last song you will ever sing
Tell me, tell me, do you feel the pressure now?
Everybody live like it's the last day you will ever see
Tell me, tell me, do you feel the pressure now?
Alright, so you think you're ready?
Okay, then you say this with me, go
We were born for this
We were born for this”
- Paramore, “Born For This”
I remain asking the question expressed in the above – what can I talk about, saying I was “born for this”?
As near as I can figure, my life is to work hard, shoot well, and love deeply. Work is challenging and provides me opportunities to excel, taking care of the first. As to the second, well, maybe this picture will answer that.
As to the third – well, that's for God to decide where I should spend my efforts. Each time I date (and love), I give of myself to watch it ripped away. But God gives (as well as takes away) and God heals and makes broken things beautiful...in His time.
What are you all about? About what can you be single-minded?
posted by The student of life at 10:36 PM
2 Comments:
For one who was knocking poetry this weekend, you sure do quote it often;)
I wasn't knocking poetry (that I remember). I appreciate it, realizing it takes more work than appreciating other forms of writing. I can't write poetry for anything, but I'll enjoy others' poetry.
Post a Comment
<< Home