The antihero is a well-known character in popular media. Whether in film & television or in novels & the nightly news, we have all met the antihero. Though antiheroes have proliferated in the past few years, the character type has actually changed dramatically.
A Quick Walk Through History
In classical literature, the hero was described as a virtuous figure. He was honorable and caring; strong and brave. He looked good, wanted good, and did good. Society celebrated, even worshiped, the archetypal hero.
The antihero was, obviously, the opposite. This guy wasn’t brave or strong. He wasn’t worshiped by society. He was antisocial; a loner flawed and scarred from some past experience. The common element of all antiheroes was that flaw. That ugly scar. This was the antihero in all his glory—or lack thereof. The antihero character type proved to be popular and spread throughout entertainment. Fast-forward to modern times. The archetypal antihero is the dominant character type. Everyone has a flaw—even the professing heroes. Luke Skywalker is inept and reckless. Harry Potter is impulsive and angry. Superman struggles with identity and is lonely. The ubiquity of the flaw transformed the definition of the antihero. For if everyone is an antihero, then nobody is. This conundrum begs the question: what is a modern antihero? To reveal the new, we must first understand the old.
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Fasting. Is that like "fasting and prayer" or is it like Ramadan? Actually . . . neither. Intermittent fasting is a health diet that has risen in popularity and controversy. There have been a few reports that it is a legitimate diet, but it is widely rejected. Even the diet's name has repulsed many people due to the images of anorexia and binge eating that the word "fasting" seems to be associated with. But what really is intermittent fasting? Simply, intermittent fasting is fasting intermittently :) Fasting as in not eating any food. Intermittent as in occurring at irregular intervals. Intermittent fasting is basically not eating any food at irregular intervals. It's an irregular cycle of eating and fasting. That's intermittent fasting in a nutshell.
There are more than a couple methods of intermittent fasting.
Now before you write this diet off as just for something for insane gym rats, let me remind you that most people fast for at least six hours every day. They fast when they sleep. Thus, the Leangains diet is simply skipping breakfast. And the Warrior Diet is only taking it one step further. Intermittent fasting is more feasible than you think. But let's get down to the real issue: is this diet even good for you? It was late Sunday night. I had just sent out my first blog newsletter, and I was proofreading it (because I always forget to proofread before I publish). At the time, my biggest concern was whether or not my grammar and spelling was correct. That changed in an instant when I received the news: my grandfather was dead. He had passed away peaceably in the night.
Naturally, I was sad. I will never be able to see him again. Never see him talk sports in his excited, anticipative way. Or see the way he brightened up when he saw his children or grandchildren. He was someone I’d loved for he was family. And even though he’d been declining for a while, there was a part of me that half-expected him to always be there. To always be alive. But I am also glad, sort of. He had experienced much hardship and pain in his last years. His kidneys had failed, and he’d had to receive dialysis three times a week. His weakened state had restricted him from much travel. Just a few days before his death, he was released from the rehabilitation center where he had been recovering from a minor stroke. So his death was a release from all the suffering he’d been through, and for that, I am glad. These opposing feelings filled my mind when I first received the news, and they are still present, even now. This leads me to the question: how is one supposed to cope with death? I just described how I responded to death, but is that the right way—the biblical way to respond? Is there even a right way? Surely, there must be. And to understand it, we must first understand what we are trying to cope with: death. |
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