A Life of Adventure?

In a conversation recently, a friend remarked to me: "Every man dies, but not every man lives." If you think about it, that is profoundly true and rather disturbing. I hope that shakes you up like it does me.

You might not be one of those men who are truly alive ? not yet anyway. Maybe you need an example, a few words to inspire you, or a life to look at. If so, then you can do a lot worse than examining the life of Richard Halliburton.

Richard Haliburton was a man who lived relatively briefly ? about 40 years, much of it in the period between the First and Second World Wars. But into those years he packed a lifetime of adventure. He started as soon as he could. The moment he finished at Princeton, he headed to Europe to start a two-year, round-the-world trek. He climbed the Matterhorn, took forbidden pictures at Gibraltar, gambled (profitably) in Monte Carlo, spent all night in the Taj Mahal, survived thermometer-bursting heat in India and Afghanistan, climbed to the top of the great pyramids in Egypt, and so on. Later he would swim the Hellespont and the Panama Canal, march with the French Foreign Legion and fly a biplane across the Sahara. He was arrested on numerous occasions, and even landed in jail a few times, but his crimes were only those fueled by his curiosity, trying to see things which he wasn't supposed to see and go places he wasn't supposed to go.

Lots of people make round-the-world trips. But what is endlessly fascinating about Halliburton is the transmission of his stories, observations and his motivations to us. Before he died in 1939 (attempting, unsuccessfully, to sail across the Pacific in a Chinese junk), he wrote half a dozen books, hundreds of articles and, most importantly, more than a thousand letters to his parents. In his amazing writing ? amazing in quantity and in beauty and insight and humor ? he displays an appropriate awe of nature together with a deep appreciation of the achievements of the pinnacle of God's creation, man.

Often Halliburton encounters conditions which were (to put it mildly) uncomfortable and people who were (from his vantage point) unusual. But at no point does he criticize, complain or moan. Rather, he exudes a quintessentially American optimism, a modest cheerfulness, a genuine belief in the decency of many of his fellow man, a passion for seeing the world and its variety of people. He recognizes that for all that separates him from the Dyak tribespeople in Bornea, he sees that they, above all else, love children and cannot have enough of them. He expresses admiration for the simplicity and gentleness of the people of the tiny mountain country Andorra and has tea with their President, by a fire in the living room of the Andorran White House.

Through all of his adventures, Halliburton remains cheerful, exuberant, charming and full of wonder. And he never takes himself too seriously. In fact, the most uproariously funny passages in his writings are where his inexperience and a faraway place collide. Take, for example, his account of an (unsuccessful) panther hunt in India:

"?I fired. One could have heard the rifle's roar in Calcutta. The recoil knocked me completely?out of the tree. I thudded to the ground on one side, the bearer on another, and the elephant gun on the third. In three terrified leaps the panther was back in the jungle. I had not killed him, and my self-condemnation knew no bounds. To investigate the possibility of a blood-trail the bearer and I walked over to the carcass [of a deer killed by the panther], and found that instead of slaying the panther in the best accredited Daniel Boone style, I had shot a large hole straight through the ample side of the dead calf. My humiliation was so touching, Doctor Lap on his return arranged for a real hunt with the idea of giving me a chance to redeem myself."

Even his final transmission from the Sea Dragon is hardly a distressed call for help, but a string of cheerful, common sense observations: "Southerly gales, squalls, lee rail under water, wet bunks, hard tack, bully beef, wish you were here-instead of me!"

For all of his decency, Halliburton is a bit harder on folks back home. The Royal Road to Romance begins with this:

"I looked behind me at my four [Princeton] roommates bent over their desks dutifully grubbing their lives away. John frowned into his public accounting book; he was soon to enter his father's department store. Penfield yawned over an essay on corporate finance; he planned to sell bonds. Larry was absorbed in protoplasms; his was to be a medical career. Irving (he dreamed sometimes) was struggling unsuccessfully to keep his mind on constitutional government. What futility it all was-stuffing themselves with profitless facts and figures, when the vital and the beautiful things of life ? the moonlight, the apple orchards, the out-of-door sirens-were calling and pleading for recognition."

From there, Halliburton went around the world and began his life of adventure and discovery. Incidentally, he managed to rescue Irving who accompanied him at least in the early stages of the trip.

Like other great men of the past, Halliburton had that wonderful gift of merging his real life experience with the vicarious life experiences he obtained through his vast reading. A voracious reader from the time he was very young, Halliburton knew his history and his geography. For him these were living, breathing subjects and a vital part of his life. For him ? as it should be for us ? history is alive and eternal and speaks to us now with all its epic heroes, romance. This makes him much more than a casual tourist:

"The Taj Mahal had been deified in my mind ever since that childhood day when I had first looked upon an oil painting of the fairy tomb and read the immortal story of its creation. It had always been a dream castle to me, something so fabulous it could not have dimensions and weight and location; something so lovely it could not exist outside of picture-books. Poring for hours at a time over these very books I had come to revere this building above all others?.All my adventures in India up to this time I had known to be only preludes to the great final adventure-the actual sight and touch of the Taj."

Similarly, in The Flying Carpet, as Halliburton enters Jerusalem, he sets the stage by recounting much of the Old Testament Biblical drama surrounding the city. He invokes the New Testament as he wanders the shores of the Sea of Galilee, and cites verse of Byron and Browning when he goes swimming in the Grand Canal in Venice. This is obviously a man who knew how to read. He read, but more than that, he saw himself as a participant in history ? or at least an observer, a close observer ? of the continual drama of history which is still going on today.

History, friends, need not be the same topic you were punished with in school and which you learned to dread. History is the study of life itself. If you hate life, then you will hate history. But if you still have a pulse, then you simply must partake of history ? because history is still going on. So?what is the point of all this? What does the life of Halliburton mean for us today?

Surely it means, at the minimum, that the world is still worth seeing. It was worth seeing in the last century when Halliburton lived, and will be worth seeing next century as well, because nothing, not technology, not urbanization, not the internet, not jet airplanes, can quell the fascinating saga of human beings, of people, of cultures and civilizations, the ongoing conversation of past, present, future.

But the deeper and more universally applicable point is this: life is worth living. Travel may not be your deal. Fair enough. Travel is just one aspect of a life well-lived. The point is for you to determine what you find beautiful, joyous, romantic, inspiring. And then start doing more of that and less of the other stuff.

What turns you on, excites and energizes you? What is it that keeps you from degenerating into a gray mass of nothing? What will stop you from squandering tomorrow? Isn't it high time that you stopped the bland, monotonous quest for mere riches and respectability? Isn't it time to live up to your secret lament that the things you dreamed of when you were young aren't exactly panning out?

Some day, you are going to die. You can't change that. But before you die, you might as well live.

"Live! Live the wonderful life that is in you. Be afraid of nothing. There is such a little time?"

Richard Halliburton, The Royal Road to Romance, chapter 1.

Copyright 2005 Mark Cole

Mark Cole is an attorney living in Magnolia, Texas. His web site, Conversations From the Past, helps men to start to live lives of authentic masculinity by drawing on the life force of the great men of the past. If you ? or a man you know ? is serious about getting out of a rut, then visit http://www.conversationsfromthepast.com today.

---

Google News Updated : Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:13:20 GMT 'House Bunny' pins its limited charms on Faris - USA Today Calgary Herald 'House Bunny' pins its limited charms on Faris USA Today - 40 minutes ago No movie called The House Bunny would be complete without the appearance of Hef himself. Not surprisingly, it opens with festivities at the Playboy Mansion, though the scene soon switches to a college campus. Anna Faris Glams Up House Bunny Premiere The Gossip Girls Film Review: The House Bunny Hollywood Reporter CanMag - The Olympian - Aurora Beacon News - Hollywood Today Newsmagazine all 203 news articles Publ.Date : Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:33:11 GMT Dems Pounce on McCain Admission He Doesn't Know How Many Houses He ... - Washington Post KGET 17 Dems Pounce on McCain Admission He Doesn't Know How Many Houses He ... Washington Post - 3 hours ago By Michael D. Shear SEDONA, Ariz.-- Sen. John McCain said in an interview that he did not know how many houses he and his wife own, a comment that Democrats immediately seized on as evidence that the Republican nominee is out of touch with the economic ... McCain not sure how many houses he owns Los Angeles Times McCain unsure how many homes he has Boston Globe United Press International - CBS News - ABC News - WHNS all 109 news articles Publ.Date : Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:16:19 GMT Obama to campaign in Eau Claire, Wis - Chicago Sun-Times ABC News Obama to campaign in Eau Claire, Wis Chicago Sun-Times - 36 minutes ago FROM AP MADISON, Wis. - Sen. Barack Obama will campaign in Wisconsin for the first time in two months this weekend. His campaign says the Illinois senator will stop in the western city of Eau Claire on Sunday. Commentary: Why Obama has to get mad to win CNN McCain Closes Gap on Obama In Poll as Conventions Loom Wall Street Journal San Jose Mercury News - Atlantic Online - CQPolitics.com - MSNBC all 997 news articles Publ.Date : Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:36:45 GMT GameStop's Profit Nearly Triples - Wall Street Journal The Money Times GameStop's Profit Nearly Triples Wall Street Journal - 1 hour ago By MIKE BARRIS GameStop Corp.'s fiscal second-quarter net income nearly tripled as results topped expectations, and the company predicted strong results for the rest of the year. UPDATE: GameStop Earnings Surge In Second Quarter; Forecast In Line CNNMoney.com Earnings roundup: Heinz, GameStop Forbes GameSpot - BusinessWeek - MarketWatch - Dallas Morning News all 43 news articles Publ.Date : Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:15:29 GMT Student shot at Tennessee high school dies - CNN ABC News Student shot at Tennessee high school dies CNN - 1 hour ago (CNN) -- A student died Thursday after being shot at Central High School in Knoxville, Tennessee, police said. Students and staff wait outside Central High School in Knoxville, Tennessee, after a fatal shooting Thursday. Deputy: 16-Year-Old Dies in Tenn. School Shooting ABC News Student Fatally Shot By Classmate In Tenn. CBS News WBIR-TV - WAAY - Farragutpress all 831 news articles Publ.Date : Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:21:11 GMT Hamlet 2: The First One Was Better - TIME Seattle Post Intelligencer Hamlet 2: The First One Was Better TIME - 30 minutes ago There's nothing remarkable, or witty, or particularly engaging about Hamlet 2, a ragged comedy about a failed actor who tries to mount a science-fiction musical sequel to Shakespeare's tragedy in a Tucson, Ariz. Anything goes in 'Hamlet 2' Los Angeles Times Brit Star Coogan Makes US Splash in Hamlet 2 San Francisco Bay Times amNewYork - AZ Central.com - Irish Voice - Western Howard County View all 53 news articles Publ.Date : Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:42:50 GMT Apple Sued Over iPhone 3G Reception Problems - InformationWeek ABC News Apple Sued Over iPhone 3G Reception Problems InformationWeek - 55 minutes ago An Alabama woman alleges that the handset isn't as fast as advertised, and she's seeking class-action status to represent other customers affected by the "defective" iPhone 3G. Apple Faces Suit Over iPhone 3G Glitches CNNMoney.com Apple hit with class action suit over 'defective' iPhone 3G BetaNews Digitaltrends.com - FierceWireless - TechSpot - Wireless Week all 53 news articles Publ.Date : Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:17:44 GMT Blogging Software Display RSS Feeds on Your Website

PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts, Websites, and more...

Adsense websites

Ego or Higher Self: Whos Behind Your Decisions?

When you make a decision, you hope it is ultimately... Read More

How to Tame the Destructive Ego

Polly's story Polly had a four year old... Read More

What Goes Around, Comes Around

... Read More

Ten Tips For Setting (And Keeping) Life Changing Resolutions

It's time for that annual ritual of making (and breaking)... Read More

Prosperity on Purpose for a Purpose

Whilst everyone seems hell bent on becoming "wealthy" at all... Read More

Right Thinking

Nothing ever happens by chance. Everything, good or bad, that... Read More

How to Manage Self Consciousness

Self consciousness is an essential part of being human, but... Read More

Maximizing Your Potential - How To Optimize Your Off-Peak Performance?

We human beings naturally have two kinds of state that... Read More

The Wealth-Receiving Mindset

Here is an exercise for you that will develop what... Read More

True Friends Are Not Dream-Slashers

A friendship poem:Choose friends wisely, the portrait they paintIs who... Read More

Whos World Is It? The World Is Yours - Invite Success

Who's World Is It?Who's world really is it? Is it... Read More

Success Through a Supercharged Network

I have finally come to believe something about myself because... Read More

Creating Your Character is Like an Artist Creating a Sculpture

(excerpted from the Cultivating an Unshakable Character series)Could creating your... Read More

Why Doesnt This Manifesting Thing Work for Me?

You've written out your goals. You read them every day.... Read More

October: A Month of Personal Harvest

October is hands down my favorite month. Every year l... Read More

A Story Of Unbelievable Persistence

Dick and Jay sat on the ground outside the shed.... Read More

Making New Friends

How do we make friends? More importantly if dropped into... Read More

What Keeps You From Your Destiny

Heading back to the car after lunch, a good-looking guy... Read More

Manifesting Your Abundance

I believe in myself, therefore, I have all that my... Read More

Want to Feel Rich? Shop Til You Drop...

Just about everybody gets them...I had them just recently...Yup, I... Read More

Business Intuition: Using the HeartMind

Many scientific studies have demonstrated the reality of intuition for... Read More

Breaking News: The Answer May Not Be In The Infomercial Financial Course

The other night, leg cramps kept me up at night... Read More

The Joy Of Living In The Zone

What do people want most in the world? What is... Read More

One of the Many Ways That The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace Wattles Gets It Right

I probably would not be able to count the number... Read More

No Ifs, Ands Or Buts

If we could choose right now, this moment, how we... Read More