Man And Metal

6/25/2016

Being an avid weightlifter, I have learned many things, secrets, from the steel, the ways of strength, given to me by time, dedication, struggle, pain. I cherish this gift, this knowledge, bestowed upon me, unlocked with patience, prowess. It has taught me much about myself and how to master any activity, it has been more of father to me, instilling great wisdom, punishing me for being lazy or weak, a astounding motivator.
Yet, here is something I have found that also rides the same path, followed the same rules, empowers me to new heights, weighs on my soul in a way unlike any before. That is Metal. No, not the iron, nor the steel, but the Metal. A colossal force created with the the soul purpose to test your resolve, drive your primal instincts, overpower doubt. These two separate entities in my life share a trait, a rare quality. The more you partake, the heavier it will get, the more you will want. My old weights are like my old songs, lighter, easier, more acceptable in normal society. But then the heaviness creeped in, stirred something animalistic, strong, hungry, and so my weight increased, my body grew stronger. I adjusted to the noise and the weight, each step making me dial up the intensity, load more upon my senses. This continues today as I delve through hours of Metal to find some unknown power, I equally push further in the gym, always going heavier, unable to go back.
However, there arrives a third, one that outdoes the other two in sound and brawn. I may sculpt my guns, listen to machine gun drums, but nothing surpasses the real deal. Shooting firearms is exhilarating, enthralling, steroids for your sense, giving unimaginable destruction and might without having to earn it. Although, this route is the most costly, none of it being free, all of it carrying a weight much different than the other two. Once again, my training in ranged weaponry spurs me to try bigger, badder things. A need to own more, increase my arsenal, just as I increase my gains, bolster my albums. This trio of Metal has taught me respect, responsibility, the return in proper investments of time, energy, and money.
Come to think of it, my life is pretty much an action movie. I draw nearer to my idols from youth, characters that are strong, unwavering, brutal. Muscles for days. Soundtracks with speed and fury. Stockpiles of guns and ammo. Shredding my body, shredding guitars, shredding targets and terrorists alike. I walk the path of Man and Metal.

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THE MAD BARRON

QUOTES I ADMIRE
"A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain." - from the Wilderness Act, 1964

"I owe my solitude to other people." - ALAN WATTS

“I think I could turn and live with the animals, they are so placid and self contained;
I stand and look at them long and long.
They do not sweat and whine about their condition;
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins;
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God;
Not one is dissatisfied-not one is demented with the mania of owning things;
Not one kneels to another, nor his kind that lived thousands of years ago;
Not one is responsible or industrious over the whole earth.”
― Walt Whitman

"In the ancient world, people placed heavy stones on the graves of the dead so their souls would not wander and inflict the living. I always thought this was simply the practice of superstitious and primitive people. But I was about to learn that the dead can hover on the edge of our vision with the density and luminosity of mist, and their claim on the earth can be as legitimate and tenacious as our own."

- Dave Robicheaux (In The Electric Mist With Confederate Dead)