Do not envy the violent or choose any of their ways.

Proverbs 3:31
(NIV)
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I’ve been spending time with an ex-military friend I met earlier this year at the archery range. We’ll call him Joe.

His stories never cease to amaze me in how vastly different our lives have been. He seems to have been surrounded by violence from youth till now. Me? Not so much.

He’s been in countless brawls; I have not.
He’s seen terrible savagery at war and at home; I have not.
He’s killed people; I have not.

Part of this may be a product of the environment we grew up in, specifically our high school systems, separated by decades of “progress”—the word some might use, while I believe Joe chose the word “pussification.”

You see, back in Joe’s day, fist fighting occurred in school on a daily basis. That was just the culture then, and you had to fight to survive. By the time I went to school (at least where I grew up), you only saw the occasional fistfight every year, if you were lucky. It’s likely because punishment for the offense was more severe by then. In Joe’s day, it was practically a slap on the wrist; in mine, suspension and the police were involved.

I wonder why one of us is surrounded by violence while the other is not still today. Why, just the other day Joe had a gun pulled on him outside a restaurant on his lunch break. (I mostly eat lunch at home, so maybe that’s part of the equation.)

But how can someone attract so much violence where I seem to be skating by in the peaceful parts of town?

Were we just born on different paths?

Are we drawn there because events in our past sowed repeating stories in our subconscious mind, manifesting themselves in reality?

Is he seeking out what I’m avoiding?

Sometimes I wonder how I would have fared in war had I joined the military, or dealt with the violent encounters Joe has been exposed to, but at the end of the day I’m on my path, and I don’t envy his. Though, his stories are fascinating to hear. Tune in tomorrow for a prime example.