I'm Charming
Don Juan
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2008
- Messages
- 177
- Reaction score
- 5
Once, there was a young boy, full of adventure, excitement and energy. He bounded through the early years of his life with childish happiness, playing and enjoying himself to his hearts content - smiling at everything life currently had to offer. He played in the fields of life, outside his home, dancing in the long grass and the hot sun.
Alas this time of ecstasy was not to remain so forever.
The boy grew into a young man and as he grew older, he begun to recognise a strange presence in the field of life where he had frolicked as a child. At first it was just a black shadow in the corner of his eye, but as the days continued he began to see a stronger shadow, a shape materialising in the heat of the sun, presenting itself in broad daylight. The young man became mildly suspicious but remained generally complacent of the nefarious apparition.
One day the young man stepped foot outside his home and in the field was a large, black bull snorting and flexing its muscles in the field. He panicked, not sure how to react, he became aware of its aggressive and hate filled demeanour - he began to fear. The bull, a huge animal, smelt this fear and charged at the young man, knocking him over and trampling him to near death.
This cycle of injury and anxiety repeated for the young man over the space of many years, the bull grew stronger and the young man grew more afraid of it with each encounter, he tried to avoid it, to escape from it, but he could not get away from it - it punished him.
At last the young man summoned a wise man to help him rid the field of life of this bull.
He asked the wise man; "What is this bull and why does it torment me when I set foot into my once peaceful fields?"
The wise man replied "This bull is the physical embodiment of your fear, it lives off of your terror, it manifests from your panic and apprehension. When you were a child you were protected from such fear, fear of such magnitude does not occur until adulthood."
The young man was alarmed "What should I do to defeat such an evil spirit?"
The wise man chuckled "You should wear a disguise to fool it of your presence."
The next day the young man went out to face the bull, he wore a mask to cover his identity from the animal, he tried to bypass it, but the bull recognised the familiar insincerity and became suspicious, it saw the familiar dread of the young man, and it charged, harming him for his attempted trickery.
The next day the wise man returned to see the young man, who had been bruised and beaten by the savage animal.
The young man declared "You're advice did not work, it could not deceive the bull"
The wise man replied "To attempt to prove to your fear that you are someone else is the path of weakness, it is the path of the nice man, the nice man attempts to cover his fear by attempting to trick it into believing he is something else, but this is not the way of the real man."
The young man asked eagerly "What is the way of the real man."
The wise man smiled and said "I cannot tell you just yet"
"Then how can I defeat such an animal, what is your advice?"
"You should ignore it, turn your back upon it"
The next day the young man went out into the fields, he ignored the bull, turning his back upon it, it saw this and recognised his arrogance. Whilst the young man's back was turned it charged him down, catching him unaware and totally unprepared to deal with it.
The next day the old wise man returned again, chuckling at the young man's bruises he exclaimed "You could not defeat the animal."
The young man snarled "Why??"
"To turn your back on fear is the path of arrogance, it is the path of the jerk, the jerk goes through the field of life with out ever facing down his fear and he is punished for his ignorance."
The young man launched himself into a fury, lunging at the wise man in anger he snarled "You have let me down twice, you have deceived me as to how I can defeat this animal."
The wise man calmly replied "I have not deceived you my son, for the road to failure is also the path to success, to gain success you first have to know failure in all its forms, it can be bitter but it is the path to becoming a real man."
The young man became less aggressive - shaking his head he asked "Well, now I have known failure, I must also become aware of success"
"You are right." Smiled the wise man "Do you wish to know what a real man does to his fear?"
"I do"
"A real man faces his fear head on, a real man confronts it and faces it off, a real man conquers it."
"This is madness."
"No my son, this is life."
"I cannot conquer fear."
"Only whilst you believe you cannot, only whilst you cower in fear in your house and refuse to face it, only whilst you attempt to deceive it of your true nature, only when you turn your back on it and attempt to walk away, only when you do not face it."
The young man stood up, refreshed, he declared "You are right. I will face this animal and I will win."
The next day the young man left his house and entered the field, the bull immediately became aware of his presence, the young man stared at the bull and the bull stared back, eyes full of anger - it slammed its hoof into the ground, expecting the young man to run for his very life. He did not. The bull charged. The young man continued to watch the animal as it grew closer and closer, as it charged to within a foot of him the young man stepped aside and jumped onto its back. The bull kicked and grunted, but the young man held on, slowly, gradually, he subdued the animal, and in the process he subdued his fear. Having subdued his fear he tethered it to a fence. It was under his control. He spent the rest of the day in happiness.
The next day the wise man returned for one final time, he asked to the young man "Have you conquered your fear?"
The young man replied "Yes, I have."
The wise man smirked "Look outside."
The young man looked outside and to his horror saw that the animal had broken free of it's tether, it prowled up and down in the field again, free from his control.
"No!" He exclaimed "This cannot be."
The wise man smiled "One can never rid himself of fear, for the path to success is long and requires persistence, to climb a mountain takes more than just the first step. One must face fear every day, but in doing so you should be confident of defeating it."
"Am I still not a real man?"
"To be a real man requires confidence, the ability to face your fears and not waver, to be a real man requires determination, the ability to fall and pick oneself up after defeat, to be a real man requires persistence, the ability to do the same process over and over again".
"Again you are right" remarked the young man "Thank you for your help, I shall not need it any more."
"As you wish" nodded the wise man - and with that he disappeared.
The young man took no notice however.
He walked over to his front door, opened it, and walked out.
The bull turned, it saw red, it saw its mortal enemy.
The young man smiled as he faced his fear.
He smiled as it charged at him.
And he smiled as he triumphed over it.
Again, and again, and again.
Alas this time of ecstasy was not to remain so forever.
The boy grew into a young man and as he grew older, he begun to recognise a strange presence in the field of life where he had frolicked as a child. At first it was just a black shadow in the corner of his eye, but as the days continued he began to see a stronger shadow, a shape materialising in the heat of the sun, presenting itself in broad daylight. The young man became mildly suspicious but remained generally complacent of the nefarious apparition.
One day the young man stepped foot outside his home and in the field was a large, black bull snorting and flexing its muscles in the field. He panicked, not sure how to react, he became aware of its aggressive and hate filled demeanour - he began to fear. The bull, a huge animal, smelt this fear and charged at the young man, knocking him over and trampling him to near death.
This cycle of injury and anxiety repeated for the young man over the space of many years, the bull grew stronger and the young man grew more afraid of it with each encounter, he tried to avoid it, to escape from it, but he could not get away from it - it punished him.
At last the young man summoned a wise man to help him rid the field of life of this bull.
He asked the wise man; "What is this bull and why does it torment me when I set foot into my once peaceful fields?"
The wise man replied "This bull is the physical embodiment of your fear, it lives off of your terror, it manifests from your panic and apprehension. When you were a child you were protected from such fear, fear of such magnitude does not occur until adulthood."
The young man was alarmed "What should I do to defeat such an evil spirit?"
The wise man chuckled "You should wear a disguise to fool it of your presence."
The next day the young man went out to face the bull, he wore a mask to cover his identity from the animal, he tried to bypass it, but the bull recognised the familiar insincerity and became suspicious, it saw the familiar dread of the young man, and it charged, harming him for his attempted trickery.
The next day the wise man returned to see the young man, who had been bruised and beaten by the savage animal.
The young man declared "You're advice did not work, it could not deceive the bull"
The wise man replied "To attempt to prove to your fear that you are someone else is the path of weakness, it is the path of the nice man, the nice man attempts to cover his fear by attempting to trick it into believing he is something else, but this is not the way of the real man."
The young man asked eagerly "What is the way of the real man."
The wise man smiled and said "I cannot tell you just yet"
"Then how can I defeat such an animal, what is your advice?"
"You should ignore it, turn your back upon it"
The next day the young man went out into the fields, he ignored the bull, turning his back upon it, it saw this and recognised his arrogance. Whilst the young man's back was turned it charged him down, catching him unaware and totally unprepared to deal with it.
The next day the old wise man returned again, chuckling at the young man's bruises he exclaimed "You could not defeat the animal."
The young man snarled "Why??"
"To turn your back on fear is the path of arrogance, it is the path of the jerk, the jerk goes through the field of life with out ever facing down his fear and he is punished for his ignorance."
The young man launched himself into a fury, lunging at the wise man in anger he snarled "You have let me down twice, you have deceived me as to how I can defeat this animal."
The wise man calmly replied "I have not deceived you my son, for the road to failure is also the path to success, to gain success you first have to know failure in all its forms, it can be bitter but it is the path to becoming a real man."
The young man became less aggressive - shaking his head he asked "Well, now I have known failure, I must also become aware of success"
"You are right." Smiled the wise man "Do you wish to know what a real man does to his fear?"
"I do"
"A real man faces his fear head on, a real man confronts it and faces it off, a real man conquers it."
"This is madness."
"No my son, this is life."
"I cannot conquer fear."
"Only whilst you believe you cannot, only whilst you cower in fear in your house and refuse to face it, only whilst you attempt to deceive it of your true nature, only when you turn your back on it and attempt to walk away, only when you do not face it."
The young man stood up, refreshed, he declared "You are right. I will face this animal and I will win."
The next day the young man left his house and entered the field, the bull immediately became aware of his presence, the young man stared at the bull and the bull stared back, eyes full of anger - it slammed its hoof into the ground, expecting the young man to run for his very life. He did not. The bull charged. The young man continued to watch the animal as it grew closer and closer, as it charged to within a foot of him the young man stepped aside and jumped onto its back. The bull kicked and grunted, but the young man held on, slowly, gradually, he subdued the animal, and in the process he subdued his fear. Having subdued his fear he tethered it to a fence. It was under his control. He spent the rest of the day in happiness.
The next day the wise man returned for one final time, he asked to the young man "Have you conquered your fear?"
The young man replied "Yes, I have."
The wise man smirked "Look outside."
The young man looked outside and to his horror saw that the animal had broken free of it's tether, it prowled up and down in the field again, free from his control.
"No!" He exclaimed "This cannot be."
The wise man smiled "One can never rid himself of fear, for the path to success is long and requires persistence, to climb a mountain takes more than just the first step. One must face fear every day, but in doing so you should be confident of defeating it."
"Am I still not a real man?"
"To be a real man requires confidence, the ability to face your fears and not waver, to be a real man requires determination, the ability to fall and pick oneself up after defeat, to be a real man requires persistence, the ability to do the same process over and over again".
"Again you are right" remarked the young man "Thank you for your help, I shall not need it any more."
"As you wish" nodded the wise man - and with that he disappeared.
The young man took no notice however.
He walked over to his front door, opened it, and walked out.
The bull turned, it saw red, it saw its mortal enemy.
The young man smiled as he faced his fear.
He smiled as it charged at him.
And he smiled as he triumphed over it.
Again, and again, and again.
