7 - March ahead with purpose

Longfellow now moves to a very philosphically plane in the fifth verse when he writes:
In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!
                  Bivouac - a temorary open encampment without tents
 

In a most unusual way, the poet draws out attention to the fact that our Life is actually a battle- a battle of choice; for we are given a free will and ample choices. Notice how a rarely used word bivouac is used to convey the fact that we stand exposed to the vagaries of making choices between good and evil, action and inaction, hope and despair, passive existence and active LIVING. He makes us focus our attention on the fact that the truth about life is the same for all human beings and yet it is OUR RESPONSE that would make us different form the next person.

Longfellow then urges us to take up the challenges thrown up by Life. He shames us in a subtle way when he remarks that we must not be like cattle that follow the herd and have to be driven by the cow herd, but we must be more decisive and chart out our own course. There is a reward at the end of it all; when we look into the mirror of our own life we will always see a HERO gazing back.

We need to realize that Life provides us challenges to ensure that we use all our God given abilities to the full and it begins with us having a purpose in life and the zeal and conviction to meet our goals.

 Action Points:
           List out the answers to the following

•  Do I know what I want from my life?
•  What stops me from achieving what I want to achieve ?
• What are the sacrifices that I am willing to make in order to achieve my goals? eg. If I want better grades can I sacrifice my TV viewing? Am I prepared to eat less and exercise more in order to keep fit and feel healthier ?

     Power Act - from www.actspot.com is focused on -
            Powering your Spirit to ACT Now.