Accept No Substitute
by Kazarian
"A vaincre sans péril, on triomphe sans gloire."
"When there is no peril in the fight, there is no glory in the triumph."
~ Pierre Corneille, French dramatist
On the fourth of July this year I did what any other patriotic American might have done. I went and saw Michael Moore's leftist film, Fahrenheit 9/11. Moore seems to have matured since his last cinematic effort, Bowling for Columbine. He approaches Fahrenheit with sobriety, tastefully using his incendiary wit to burn celluloid effigies thus prompting audiences to think about this country's leadership and corruption in our political system. Many scenes were touching, many were humorous, and many were shocking.
One such scene showed young American troops talking about the music they like to listen to while they drive their tanks through Iraqi cities and shell targets that sometimes turn out to be innocent civilians. Some soldiers have come to the remorseful realization that war is not glorious. Unfortunately, other young Americans are lost in the exhilaration of the kill. They see war as the ultimate rush.
The "rush" that a person can receive in combat is one example of how people can substitute lower thrills and adrenal stimulation for more fulfilling forms of adventure attainment. Some people risk their lives in various extreme sports looking for excitement and the satisfaction of a good endorphin buzz. These substitutions don't have to be so extreme. Many spend exorbitant amounts of money on vacations to exotic places, not just to escape their routine lives but to experience some kind of adventure. Others may use drugs or alcohol to escape a mundane existence and experience life in an altered state of consciousness. The methods of substitutions are innumerable. Very few people actively find fulfillment through authentic means, by participation in the greatest adventure of all.
The desire for excitement and stimulation is natural. The URANTIA Book states on page 159 that "Love of adventure, curiosity, and dread of monotony—these traits inherent in evolving human nature—were not put there just to aggravate and annoy you during your short sojourn on earth, but rather to suggest to you that death is only the beginning of an endless career of adventure, an everlasting life of anticipation, an eternal voyage of discovery."
It is never too early to start cultivating the excitement of this endless journey. Like all adventures, it requires courage to take the first steps. Gain the thrill and exhilaration of speaking out for something you know is right, despite the potential fear of being ostracized. Risk moving out of your personal comfort zone in order to move into a more genuine and loving place with others. Attain real experience by being of higher service.
The ultimate satisfaction is to have had the courage to live life in faith and to have "unreservedly risked everything you are and have on the adventure of survival after death in pursuit of the hope of finding the God of eternity, whose presence you have foretasted in time." (ibid. p. 1733)