Posts Tagged ‘take up the pen’

Take up the Pen, My Soldiers

Yes it’s the old cliche. The pen is mightier than the sword.
How long does it often take before we realise or rediscover this truism and apply it to our own lives.
For so long I had tried to prove myself by the sword. I believe this is a trap that many of us fall into. The sword is portrayed in our society as being the master of all and that if we cannot rule by it then there is something inherently flawed inside us, and we must be put to death.
Oh the irony.
So a month ago I picked up the pen. What a great day for civilisation. Yes it was just another day like any other. The sun came up and set in the usual manner. Nothing out of the ordinary there, but something had changed.
The world had ceased to be one where Michael Nunn tried to prove himself by the sword. Just like the young Arthur pulling the sword from the rock, Michael had picked up the pen. Shiver and quake the world.
Now,I do not hold myself above other men, on the contrary – I am a very humble and quiet person. But the important thing to realise is that for so long I had bought into the world’s image of what a great man should be. Gun slinging, smack talking gangster wannabe – president and drug pusher.
Our need to be recognised as a big, strong man is a pure ego-driven delusion.
How much better is it that we decide for ourselves what kind of man we should be?
I say that it is unfathomably better. Discovering what and who you truly are is critical if you want to be truly successful, what ever your definition of success may be.
I remember years ago once joking to friends about this very topic. I told them that I took drugs to give the rest of the world a chance.
Again, the irony. All I did was give the world a chance to screw me over, which it will do if you let it. From that day forward I had locked that negative thought into my mind, and its effects dominated my destiny for years to come.
My reliance on drugs ruined my marriage, stole my dreams, and destroyed my chance at having a normal life. Of course, I should have been smarter: I lost a sister to drugs at an early age and I should have heeded the warnings.
So I chose to live with drug addicts, gangsters and fighters. Men who lived by the sword. And I sought acceptance among them, hoping to someday prove myself by the sword so they would respect me. How foolish I was.
In more recent times I have broken and buried the sword, kicked out the gangsters and drug addicts and yes, taken up the pen. And you know what, it felt good. Holding that pen felt real good. So good I almost can’t describe it. But you know what? The longer I hold that pen, the better I become at describing how good it feels. It is its own self-fulfilling prophecy. And the reason it is good and keeps getting better? Because it is true. I was born to hold the pen – it is my calling. No longer will I deny its power; the power it gives me when I wield it. I am proud to stand up and say, “Here is my pen. Take heed world and fear me.”
I swear to only use this pen for good; for truth.
I do not seek to cut down other men with scything wit and sarcasm, but to help those less fortunate than me to hold their own pen with pride; gain strength from it. I know that my heart is good and I will follow it. I will let my heart guide my hand, and the pen will do my work.
Oh pity and shame all those years. So long I have wasted myself and my talents, redirecting my energies at ghosts, denying my true self. So long – too long.
So I call to you nations of men. I am Michael Nunn, and I have taken up the pen. Fear me because I bring truth. Your sword will rust and bend while my pen grows stronger. While you talk death and maiming, my pen promises freedom and life – setting men free from your slaughter and pain. When each and every new person picks up their own pen and lets their heart guide their hand, they change the world. We will not be beaten, and we will not be denied. Your answer? Cut us with the sword again? Please… The sword is too blunt an instrument. It only knows one way, and that way only leads to destruction. If you live by the sword, you will die by it. But live by the pen and you will live on in the hearts and minds of generations to come.
Take up the pen, my soldiers! Let your heart guide your hand. Be true to yourselves and break free from the false image that the world says you should be. Break and bury that sword, it is a flawed and blunt instrument, and only does one thing. The pen will give you real power. The possibilities are endless.

Michael Nunn