In a crisis, we discover powers inside ourselves, powers that have
laid dormant, secret reserves of ability, only waiting for the occasion to leap
forth. Human beings have the "X" factor. The "X" factor is
an unknown quantity, it is found within the known universe, but you cannot
measure the force.
A
small woman normally could not pick up a fifty pound sack of potatoes. If that
small woman needs to save her child, she will pick up the bumper of a car, and pull
her child out from under it. Yet five minutes earlier, that same woman could
not pick up the car.
A
frightened boy can leap a six foot high fence --- when a bull is charging. Yet
five minutes later, that boy could not clear the top rail of the fence.
In
1944, Audie Murphy picked up a 50 caliber machine gun and began firing at the advancing
Germans. A 50 caliber machine gun is usually bolted on an airplane or a large
truck. A 240 pound man might shoot one round, but not with a this type of
machine gun, because the recoil is too great. After firing for an hour, Murphy
had killed or wounded 50 Germans. He sustained a leg wound during his stand,
and stopped only after he ran out of ammunition.
The
one thing nobody knows is what causes the "X" factor --- or why we
can do these things in a crisis. I never would have believed John Wayne
could sing. I didn’t believe John Wayne would even try singing.
Singing just didn’t fit with the John Wayne persona. When he sang on Live
America, I was astonished. http://www.symbiosis4u.us/MP4/JohnWayne-LiveAmerica.html
(2 minutes)
These men and women do not know what
they can do. They only know that when the thing is to be done --- possible or impossible
--- safe or deadly --- there is some strength that surges in them that allows
them to rally to the task. Panic only calms them, clears
their brain, and steadies their hand, while other men run for the hills.
When President Abraham Lincoln spoke of
the soldiers who died at Gettysburg he said, we cannot bestow any higher honor on
them than the highest honor already earned through their courageous actions. Listen
to a 2 minute audio of an actor reading Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. 1863GettysburgAddress.mp3
These men were the salt of the race.
Charles Chaplin was not a soldier, or a
president. He was a comedian. Yet, he created one of the best speeches I have
ever heard. When he wrote the speech (in 1940), Hitler had captured Austria and
Poland and the Dutch, and moved toward France. In less than five minutes,
Chaplin went from addressing mankind’s failings; to a call to action echoing
with an earth shattering crescendo … (you will have to see the video).
Be happy, healthy, wise,
and abundance of the Fourth of July,
Tom Van Drielen
Symbiosis Enterprises
1175 Branham Lane #18907
San Jose, Ca. 95118
Home Office 408-723-4777
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