• ABOUT
  • STEPHEN GARRETT
  • SUBMISSIONS
  • CORE CONTRIBUTORS
  • CONTACT

We Can Die Better

Bringing Death Back To Life

Classic Cremation
  • Dying and Death
  • The Grief Journey
  • Alternative Funeral Services
  • Celebration of Life
  • End of Life Planning
  • :: Training

Men, Where Has Our (My) Fire Gone?

November 8, 2017 By sgarrett Leave a Comment

From Fire in the Belly – A Book by Sam Keen

“A man must go on a quest

to discover the sacred fire

in the sanctuary of his own belly

to ignite the flame in his heart

to rekindle his ardor for the earth.”

– Sam Keen, Fire in the Belly

 

“The root of humanly caused evil is not man’s animal nature, not territorial aggression, or innate selfishness, but our need to gain self-esteem, deny our mortality, and achieve a heroic self-image.”

― Sam Keen, The Denial of Death

In his book Fire in the Belly Sam Keen speaks of the virtue of moral outrage to which the two above quotes are firmly linked. A man must first find that fire in his belly and then face his own mortality in order to fearlessly let his ‘outrage’ inspire his everyday actions.

This fire, this passion, this drive is almost primal. When left unrecognized and untapped it starts to leak out sideways in destructive or non-productive ways. In a way relieving the urge to do important things many men do anything they can to take the edge off the fire they feel in their belly – risky behavior, crazy sex, alcohol and drugs, fast car driving, or edgy sports. Sometimes the opposite shows up in the form of distraction or voyeurism like watching excessive television, sports, digital media, or pornography.

If a man is to put his fire to good use he must first notice what he is outraged about in his life and the environment around him and then simply do something about it. He must also know and accept he has but this life as the man he is to take action before he faces himself in the mirror we call death.

It brings into stark reality the oft asked question; “What must I do before I die?”

Personally, I am outraged at the way we treat death and dying here in North America and how we have taught our men to be strong and stoic and hold their authentic human emotions in check. Our current approach to death actually diminishes our capacity to live life to the fullest. It is outrageous that we fight death at all costs!

Why this article?

Well, I noticed my own fire has dimmed a little under the all too often and regularly polite no responses I get as I continue to walk along my chosen path of bringing death back to life in a human way. I had pulled back from my edge and become a little hesitant and noticed I was wasting time by not doing what my fiery heart was demanding I do. My fervor had dimmed and I needed to publicly rekindle it. So it is to myself actually that I write this article.

Hope it serves y’all too!

Filed Under: Dying and Death

Learn more about End Of Life Guide Training with Stephen Garrett

A 12 Lesson Training that is available online and self-paced.

Learn more and sign up

 

sgarrett

About sgarrett

Death is one of North America’s biggest taboos. No one wants to talk about it, so we suffer bad deaths. We can die better, come find out how. Start by subscribing via rss or e-mail.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

EMAIL NEWSLETTER

Sign up to receive updates!

Receive the Free Guides!

All-Ready-to-Go-Create-Your-Own-Death-Binder All-Ready-To-Go-Talking-With-The-Funeral-Director All-Ready-To-Go-Talking-With-The-Children

My Life jo-URN-ey – Begin with the End In Mind

My Life jo-URN-ey – Begin with the End In Mind

February 26, 2021 By sgarrett

If There Is Healing, There Can Be No Blame

February 22, 2021 By sgarrett

Grief – A Breathtaking Teacher

Grief – A Breathtaking Teacher

October 18, 2020 By sgarrett

Stop!

Stop!

September 25, 2020 By sgarrett

  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 

Advertisement

The mission of We Can Die Better is to generously serve readers with contemporary, accurate, and well researched information regarding the intimate and important process of dying, death and grief and to do so with boldness, compassion, creativity and humor.

Recent Posts

  • My Life jo-URN-ey – Begin with the End In Mind
  • If There Is Healing, There Can Be No Blame
  • Grief – A Breathtaking Teacher
  • Stop!
  • Pets are Family Too!
Uncopyright Stephen Garrett & Just Alive Consulting