Seven Swardsmen at the Door

I was very inspired by this story. I'm posting it because it's a good reminder of what we are all capable of by channeling our energy for good instead of being paralyzed by fear.
~Jamie

"Reverend Njoya of Kenya is a pro-democracy advocate in a dictatorial run government.
The Government was very unhappy with Reverend Njoya's teachings and preachings, and so they sent seven armed assailants to assassinate him during the night. The Swards-men sliced off his fingers and slashed open his belly, and the Reverend Njoya chuckled the whole time. As he lay on the floor, certain he was dying, he began to give his treasures away to his attackers: to one, his favorite bible; to another, his library, and so on.
How could this be? How could anyone not respond with sheer terror and life-preserving aggression to such brutality?!
So, the Reverend Njoya was asked this. "How were you not overcome by fear?"
Before answering, Reverend Njoya paused for only a moment while sitting in his cushioned arm chair. His face remained calm ans sweet as he responded, "Fear is an energy that comes from inside us, not outside. It's neutral. So we can channel it into fear, paranoia, or euphoria, whetever we choose." The Reverend crouched on the floor. "When a lion sees prey or predator, it senses fear first. But instead of lunging blindly in defense or in attack, it recoils." The Reverend moved back, leaning on his left leg and crouching lower. "The lion pauses a moment, targets his energies. then he springs.
"We can do the same. We can harness our would-be fears, harmonize our energies, and channel them into courage." His whole body, his whole life, seemed to tell us, "Yes, this is possible." Reverend Njoya's response - that of generosity in the face of brutality - so moved his assailants that it was they who rushed him to the hospital, where doctors saved him. His ability to rechannel the energy of his fear saved his life. "

~Jeffery Perkins, You have the Power: Choosing Courage in a Culture of Fear (New York: Penguin Group, 2004) 22-25.