We all need some chest-swelling every once in a while.

But my secret pleasure isn’t war movies; it’s kung fu/martial arts movies.

My wife has come down on me a few times, talking about the violence and such — again, seemingly ironic, since I teach spirituality, love, and peace. Ha!

(I’ve even got a page on my site about my favorite kung fu movies…)

But what I’m also finding (aside from the fact that my tastes are changing, from more action-centered to more plot-centered) is that it’s not about the violence, the action, or the inflicting of cinematic blows…

It’s the underlying themes of “seeking to be one’s best,” and “triumph over challenge,” and the most basic, “the triumph of good over evil.”

I’ve seen a few ‘hack-em-up’ martial arts movies, and didn’t care for them a bit. I never watch horror movies, or movies that just get violent for the sake of violence.

But in martial arts, there is art. The quest for elegance, perfection, and the noble pursuit of self-development. And those themes are what attract me, more than anything else.

I also find I’m attracted to watching those movies when I’m in need of an “inner morale burst”, as well.

I am glad you see the connection to the Disquiet.

I, too, enjoy war movies. And, for all of pro-feminist, pro-human, pro-spirit values, I too have been wracked with guilt at times for it.

But, I’ve let go of that guilt (mostly) because of all that I’ve learned.

I think there is also an interesting balance here, that I think plays directly with the disquiet.

My spiritual tradition teaches the sanctity of human life, and that killing is a sin. And it also teaches about the impermanence of physical life, how brief it is, and not to hold onto it too closely- that there are better things worth attaching to.

It’s an interesting dichotomy. Sometimes the anti-war voices can attach to life so…. greedily, that there is no understanding of something worth dying for. Or something worth being in conflict over.

I should say that I’ve never been in a war. But, I have been a paramedic, and I’ve seen I don’t know how many dead bodies, including many who died from inflicted violence.

Not one of those violent deaths is one that I can imagine condoning. And yet, they happened. It’s a tragedy, we should work to prevent it.

And, what if there is yet a larger Truth that also encompasses the possibility of a noble death?

Thanks for getting me thinking about this.