Doesn’t matter if you like country music or not. Doesn’t matter if you’re seeing the video clip for the first time or one hundredth, when someone speaks to you with the passion and truth Garth Brooks does in his song, Standing Outside the Fire, it’s visceral.
Look into his unflinching blue eyes, they’re totally compelling. Brooks’ fervor glares at you in a way that Chucky or Nicholson could never match. He believes every word that he’s singing. You know instinctively that he and Jenny L. Yates wrote this song from their hearts.
Brooks challenges the idea that limiting engagement and risk, staying aloof and not letting go, is cool; while taking risk, challenging oneself or jumping into the fire, is foolhardy. For him, strength isn’t going it alone, and embracing our passions is not a weakness but a chance to “fly higher and higher.”
Are you in or out? Do you buy what he’s selling, that life only begins when you step into the metaphorical fire?
Your personal fire could be anything that both frightens and excites you —changing careers, battling a personal or societal injustice, traveling way off the beaten path, committing to getting into shape, or proposing someone be your partner forever. You must decide, and embrace the scars that will result from your choice.
If the day comes that our brain and our gut instincts go the full ten rounds, battling over every pro and cons—yet we choose to remain outside the fire, when somewhere deep inside we know we have the power to move forward—it’s over. Whether we’ve buried our imagination and confidence purposely, afraid of where it might take us, or worry that we don’t have the strength to meet the potential challenges and choose to avoid the risk, it is over.
Okay, got a little carried away there, so let’s rephrase.
Our ability to enjoy a fulfilling and rewarding life is in danger if we consistently hesitate to push ourselves, take chances and get involved.
In a world that spends billions of dollars to program how we react, then plays on those reactions in an attempt to control us through enticement and fear, critical thinking, inspiration and independence are essential to maintaining our humanity. In a world that appears to be in shambles, courage, compassion, education and engagement are a prerequisite to recovery.
"Few human attributes are more defined and praised than courage and compassion."
All these things can be our reward if we take Brooks’ advice and refuse to stand outside the fire. Adrenalin will flow again, and our brains will function without social media prompts.
The term critical derives from the Greek word kritikos meaning “able to judge or discern.” Critical thinking comes from balancing life experience with academic knowledge, and consistently jumping into the fire will continually expand the scope of our life experiences.
The Urban Dictionary claims inspiration makes us want to try new things, gives us hope, and causes us to see the world differently. If we’re sufficiently inspired we’ll believe we can achieve anything.
Independence is just plain scary. Trump, the Taliban, Xi Jinping, Zuckerberg and their ilk, are terrified by genuine independence. They understand it grounds us and provides strength. Jumping into the fire and emerging with only a few superficial burns will nurture powerful independence in those willing to take a chance and get involved.
Few human attributes are more defined and praised than courage and compassion.
“Real courage is when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.” Harper Lee’s famous line in To Kill a Mockingbird speaks to those willing to confront or resist when the outcome is unknown or likely to be bad. This steadfastness combined with compassion for people or nature powers heroes like Greta Thunberg and Malala Yousafzai to persist.
Every time we follow our passions, step outside ourselves and experience something new, we get educated. On their website, Queen’s University in Kingston goes so far as to describe learning as a process that fosters change and increases the potential for personal performance, then notes education occurs primarily as a result of experiences.
In my opinion, Brooks nailed it with his honesty when he ended his lyrics singing, “I can’t abide standing outside the fire.” To enjoy The Balanced Life you will find yourself “walking a wire” once in a while, perched steadily but prepared for a fall.
If we consistently challenge ourselves in all ways, emotionally, intellectually and physically; then attack those challenges with energy and passion, apprehension will transform into confidence. There is no better feeling in the world.
Thanks for checking out the reboot of The Balanced Life, appearing every Thursday in PelhamToday. In future it will include a wide range of subjects, all broadly tied to active lifestyle, cycling and active travel, including opinion, advocacy, information—and some that will just be for fun.
