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INVICTUS
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Someone recently asked me what INVICTUS meant... here is the long version.
In 2019 as I was united with all of the 6th Degree Black Belts who had tested for rank and had qualified to earn the esteemed title of Master Instructor, we were tasked with the process of coming up with our Mastership Class name. Several ideas were put out and we had chosen "Invictus". It was chosen by all, but I had settled for it as it was not my first choice. At first I was opposed somehow, within me, it felt off. As a person of faith it felt dark and it was seeming to lack God and his sovereignty.
I let it stew around in my head for a couple of days as we continued to meet over the week and as I read the following...
Invictus
by English poet William Ernest Henley
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeoning s of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.
INVICTUS - Definitions
- Invictus, meaning unconquerable or undefeated in Latin
- to never lose hope no matter the circumstance, and how you control your fate and decide your future.
- Invictus is Latin for “unconquered.” The speaker in the poem proclaims his strength in the face of adversity
- Each stanza takes considerable note of William Ernest Henley's perseverance and fearlessness
As I read them, it suddenly occurred to me... we have been given free will. God has given us stewardship over our lives. We can choose ANY way in this world. Our choices have rewards or consequences, benefits or drawbacks. Regardless of the choice, we choose our way. We can follow anyone's example. We can choose NOT to follow anyone's example.
When asked recently I said it was the the concept that we all make decisions and choices that make our way through life every day. We have given free will to do these things. Taekwondo is about the "Way of the Hand and Foot". So it made me think of the path that we all take, and that that path is our decision which leads to our fate. We are responsible for it.
So, I wrote the phrase...
INVICTUS - Make Your Way
My hope is for you to make better choices and better decisions that help form and shape your character and guide and direct your path to the best version of yourself. It is my goal to assist and help all those around me that desire to achieve those goals.
As I begin to walk the path towards 7th Degree and towards earning the title of Senior Master Instructor, I will take hold of those choices and make the decisions that will bring success. This is the way...
In 2019 as I was united with all of the 6th Degree Black Belts who had tested for rank and had qualified to earn the esteemed title of Master Instructor, we were tasked with the process of coming up with our Mastership Class name. Several ideas were put out and we had chosen "Invictus". It was chosen by all, but I had settled for it as it was not my first choice. At first I was opposed somehow, within me, it felt off. As a person of faith it felt dark and it was seeming to lack God and his sovereignty.
I let it stew around in my head for a couple of days as we continued to meet over the week and as I read the following...
Invictus
by English poet William Ernest Henley
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeoning s of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.
INVICTUS - Definitions
- Invictus, meaning unconquerable or undefeated in Latin
- to never lose hope no matter the circumstance, and how you control your fate and decide your future.
- Invictus is Latin for “unconquered.” The speaker in the poem proclaims his strength in the face of adversity
- Each stanza takes considerable note of William Ernest Henley's perseverance and fearlessness
As I read them, it suddenly occurred to me... we have been given free will. God has given us stewardship over our lives. We can choose ANY way in this world. Our choices have rewards or consequences, benefits or drawbacks. Regardless of the choice, we choose our way. We can follow anyone's example. We can choose NOT to follow anyone's example.
When asked recently I said it was the the concept that we all make decisions and choices that make our way through life every day. We have given free will to do these things. Taekwondo is about the "Way of the Hand and Foot". So it made me think of the path that we all take, and that that path is our decision which leads to our fate. We are responsible for it.
So, I wrote the phrase...
INVICTUS - Make Your Way
My hope is for you to make better choices and better decisions that help form and shape your character and guide and direct your path to the best version of yourself. It is my goal to assist and help all those around me that desire to achieve those goals.
As I begin to walk the path towards 7th Degree and towards earning the title of Senior Master Instructor, I will take hold of those choices and make the decisions that will bring success. This is the way...