Extraordinary Examples of Fortitude

[LuisP]

We all are a product of our environment, education, experiences and griefs.

Simply put, yes, maybe even not entirely correct.
But sufficient enough to convey the fact that we all can be Inspired to overcome all of that.

Why ? Because some have done it.

And if it is true that all of us are different, it is no less true that we all are essentially the same.
We just need to be "Inspired".

Some, the "lucky" ones, achieve it through Joy. Others, the "less lucky", get there through Horror.

Most, we, the unfortunate Majority, never "get there" at all.
And forever remain "products".

I believe that "Extraordinary Examples of Fortitude" are a blessing to us, the Unfortunate, for they can function as a "spark".

To whatever.
That is not the point.

The point is, to where we would never go just by ourselves.

If only we Know about them.


I will be writing about one those, here.
His name is Ernst Jünger.



Do you Know of any you would like to share ?

[kevin]

LuisP,
Looking forward to Your writings on the above man.
I have surfed about reading about Him, and am impressed.

I am a product of My environment, and only here because My grandfather on mothers side managed to get through six years of the boar war, the first world war, and second world war.
Engrained in My every cell is that MEMORY.

Your Mr Junger displays a fine military history leading into a finer comprehension of how such is used , and thus He then rejects such.

Kevin

[re-rose]

I can see why he appeals to you, Kevin.

Though this book seems to be straight scifi, his literary style was described was magical realism:

The Glass Bees (German: Gläserne Bienen) is a 1957 science fiction novel written by German author Ernst Jünger. The novel follows two days in the life of Captain Richard, an unemployed ex-cavalryman who feels lost in a world that has become more technologically advanced and impersonal. Richard accepts a job interview at Zapparoni Works, a company that designs and manufactures robots including the eponymous glass bees. Richard's first-person narrative blends depiction of his unusual job interview, autobiographical flashbacks from his childhood and his days as a soldier, and reflection on the themes of technology, war, historical change, and morality.

In recent years, Jünger's prognostications on the future of technology, variously interpreted as technophobic allegory or insightful critique into the altered relationship between technology, nature, and the human, have received renewed enthusiasm.[1][2] American science fiction writer Bruce Sterling composed an introduction for the New York Review Books edition in 2000, saying that "its speculations on technology and industry are so prescient as to be uncanny.

waiting with open ears, Luis
rose

[re-rose]

And, oh yes, my extraordinary example of fortitude would be Princess Noor Inayat Khan.

From Wicki, again:

Noor-un-Nisa Inayat Khan, GC, (Hindustani, (Urdu): نور عنایت خان, Devanagari: नूर इनायत ख़ान) (2 January 1914 – 13 September 1944) was an Allied SOE agent during the Second World War who was awarded the George Cross, the highest civilian decoration in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth nations.

Also known as "Nora Baker",[1] "Madeleine",[2] and "Jeanne-Marie Rennier," she was of Indian origin. As an SOE agent during the Second World War, she became the first female radio operator to be sent from Britain into occupied France to aid the French Resistance.

In spite of the fact that her entire network fell within the first six weeks, she evaded capture for six months before she was was caught (and ultimately executed) by the Germans. A musician and author of children's books, Noor has been described as gentle and soft spoken , but she was passionate enough about her beliefs to write.I wish some Indians would win high military distinction in this war. If one or two could do something in the Allied service which was very brave and which everybody admired it would help to make a bridge between the English people and the Indians.[6] She was to sacrifice her life for this wish.

In some recreations of history, it is said that her fervent nationalism that led to her betrayal by the British themselves. Their grip on the Indian continent was tenuous enough without a charismatic and heroic Indian leader from the war. If they were the culprits, their plan went astray. The Germans assumed her identity and by transmitting false information back to the SOE were able to capture and execute other agents as well

During her agent training, Noor's superiors had doubts about her ability to withstand sustained interrogation. They found her exceptionally charming, but she also seemed young and naive. According to a memoir of the time, her worry was that she had been taught that lying was the greatest sin of all. She resolved this potential moral quandary for herself by deciding that if she were captured, her only option would be to say nothing at all. And she stood by this vow.
Intestinal fortitude....she had it.

rose

[LuisP]

She surely did.
Thanks, Rose.

I had never heard about her.

Now I have.

[LuisP]

In older and more honourable days, men and women were taught about four virtues, three of them being Justice, Prudence and Temperance.

The fourth, Fortitude, has long since been my preferred.

And genuinely admired, when I see it in others.


It can be defined - and to me, it is - as “Strength of mind that allows one to endure pain, adversity and intimidation, with courage”.

I find it to be inherently attached to Character itself - for if absent, I believe no truly Just, Prudent or Temperate person can ever be possible.

The fact that these are Natural dormant qualities which may never manifest themselves unless challenged and dully met by one’s inner fibre, make the rise and presence of Fortitude, that most demanding virtue of Old, as I, for one, perceive them, a rare gem to be found among today’s men and women.

It is not only in Science that for every action there must be a reaction.

In Life, maybe it is also true, as so many examples exist, and we also need to sink to great depths so as to discover the strength to be able to rise to great heights.



I’ve said once on this Forum, and feel compelled to say it again – It is an undeserved privilege for me to be witnessing some things.

Thank you.

[re-rose]

Coincidentally, I was involved in a conversation about fortitude a few days ago, Luis. The question at large was, "how do you persevere in the face of adversity?" Self-directed pep talks seem to be the preferred remedy...."this too shall pass," kind of thing.

But there is a quality of fortitude that I particularly admire, and that is fortitude accompanied by grace. And I'm not even sure what I mean by that, except the ability to bear heavy burdens with shoulders up and smiles on the face.

There is a sense to people who have such a quality, that they welcome Life exactly as it is, whatever it is. It is a very earthy quality that was predominant among the caregivers I met while Mom was in home hospice care.

What stories those ladies told, what lives they had led! (Cat can relate here, I'm sure)
Each had problems and challenges in her own life...in part due to the low pay/uncertain schedules of the position, and in part due to the infinite varieties of the human condition that were playing themselves out in their own families. And yet each was able to bring an open and loving heart to my mother's bedside. I think Fortitude and Grace were my angels then.

But you were going to introduce Mr. Junger to this topic, yes? Apologies for the derailment.

rose

[LuisP]

Thoughtful post, Rose.
One with which I concur in earnest. For if to Grace you throw in its metaphysical connections as pertained to Catholics such as I am – which I am sure was not your intention – well then, a very complicated subject could be discussed. Am just mentioning this because Grace is a tremendous and mysterious concept that rings other kind of bells.

What I am clumsily trying to say is that Fortitude emanates from the Natural and Grace from the Supernatural , in strictly orthodox terms. Not then to be mixed – except by “intervention” , if you get what I’m aiming at – because a natural quality cannot (and should not) be more or less qualified through the concomitant presence or absence of a supernatural gift such as Grace.

Fortitude is, by its own right, a Natural virtue because it is ubiquitous to Man. It is though a dormant virtuous condition – as all other Natural three too are – because we are also “naturally” born with the also ubiquitous gift of Free Will, and it is through exercising it and making our Choices – or Not making, which is a way to exercise our will, and perhaps the most telling one - that they can have the opportunity reveal themselves and shape our Walk in Life.

Problem is that Fortitude demands “courage”, not physical but Mental. Demands that our Mind (spirit ?) confronts and challenges our base Instinct to Run or to Fight, not from simple and evident threats to our survival - which a very easy and straightforward situation - but from far more commonplace but nonetheless harsher and more violent threats such as inner Pain caused by Adversity and Intimidation which threaten our Individuality, done inside a context where “natural predisposition” exists to Please and Belong.

This “problem” and its demanding exertion upon one’s Mind has been dealt as of lately (40 years or so) by toning it down to a almost ridicule status and that is why, from my view, Hypocrisy, Cynicism, Duplicity and Utilitarianism nowadays reign, and are generally accepted by everyone as “normal” conditions of the times.

Well, to me they aren’t …. and in Fortitude I glimpse salvation.

(Hell, I just stopped and read all of the above and it looks like I’m on a sanctimonious spree … sorry ! but I’ll let it stay because I felt like writing it … and also, and foremost, because I believe in every word I wrote up there).

Since I’m sure all you meant was the secular understanding of that term, meaning, “just” something like “shoulders up and smiles on the face”, all this rant of mine is rather inappropriate.

But then again, even “just” there, I would still agree with you in earnest.



You might wish, though, to ask yourself why only in “those ladies” – as in, “old ladies” if I get your underlying meaning correctly – were you (are you ?) only able to see such reaction to, well, pain and adversity.

Telling - isn’t it - if one thinks about that ?

[LuisP]

PS : Tomorow, I'll post about Ernst, that most Formidable Man.

[re-rose]

Luis, I always enjoy your passionate perspective on moral and spiritual matters, so no apology is ever required for your posts.

Mom has been on my mind a great deal this week, as I am in the midst of planning her birthday memorial service. She was an exceptional woman in her own right, and a light to her community. But the caregivers I referred to, women I had the opportunity to get to know during the time of her last illness, were some twenty and thirty years younger than I, often single parents, sometimes with stories of such great personal hardship that I wanted to weep when I heard them.

Sharing bedside vigils makes for a most peculiar intimacy and we would pass the long hours in the way that women do, spinning out our lives and finding commonalities beneath our seeming differences. But, when our conversations turned, as they always did, to foundational beliefs and spiritual leanings, there was not an atheist among us. So perhaps your "orthodox'' beliefs are correct and it was a gift from the divine, that grace, in that time.

And thanks for entertaining my detour along the path to Fortitude!

rose

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