The Bear Essentials
My new hero is a man named Eddie “Bear” Grylls. You may have seen him on his TV show, Man V. Wild on the Discovery Channel. He explores some of the most dangerous places on the earth and explains how to survive under the most extreme circumstances. What you might not know is that Bear broke his back in 3 places some years ago, only to recover and become the youngest person in history to climb the summit of Mount Everest (he was only 23!!).
How is your Christian faith important to you?
It feels like the rock in my life and it has taken me a long time to no longer be afraid to say that. But I have learnt that it takes a proud man to say he needs nothing. Faith gives me a strong backbone and when we find that within ourselves we can then live more exciting, effective, kind, passionate and giving lives. Life has a meaning again. It doesn’t though make life easier in any way, and I still battle with my fair share of struggles and doubt and often great self-doubt, but that is just the product of trying to stretch beyond the norm and to live life fully. I depend on a few simple verses everyday that have held me thro so many tough times. They are a mix of these:
- ‘I am here to help you’
- ‘I am holding you by your right hand’
- ‘The lord himself watches over you’
That’s it for me in a nutshell.
I am not sure what those verses are, but I do know that he recommends a few prominent authors and I have heard him talk about his faith on the show. What I think strikes me the deepest however is his passion and intensity to push the limits of his body and mind and it makes me wonder if I am pushing the limits and living a risky, pain-forgetting life for the King who bought me. I am just a lover of passion and angst and this guy has it.
Greg B
