The lion in the third act

By Michael Moriarty
web posted March 11, 2002

When an old lion risks walking alone, the hyenas show up.
Attacked badly enough, the old big cat grows older more
quickly. If the aging is surrendered to, a certain amount of inner
peace is recaptured. Should the old lion think himself younger, he
feels profound anger and frustration. Half of post-traumatic
stress is actually post-traumatic rage. I am now making peace
with the last third of my life. However, I am an old lion. Please
don't forget that.

Lions make enemies. Why? Because they are lions in a day and
age of insects, hyenas, jackals, wolves and any other herd-life-
form you wish to mention. Individual freedom, the common
denominator, as Winston Churchill said, of the English-speaking
peoples, defines the human lion. He can, will and must
occasionally walk alone. That is your problem. Not his.

He suffers the consequences. His enemies, however, suffer a
kind of eternal damnation. They've chosen to live in packs. Peer
pressure means more to them than common sense. Therefore,
hell will follow their progress. They will lead their peer group into
the inferno. Human beings were not meant to be hyenas. They
were created to be divine - spiritual lions and lionesses.

In Mapy Ridge - that's my version of Maple Ridge, B.C. - I live
amidst a pride of lions, lionesses and lion cubs. I'm home. I am
no longer the balding American eagle I was for the last eight
years. The assault I endured two months ago could have
happened anywhere. I have no reason to fly anymore. Therefore,
my self-image is that of a lion. I sit in my trailer like a lion in a
cave. I type with the decisiveness of an animal. My voice has
become a low rumble and, when necessary, a roar. My pride of
lions loves me. I'm their elder. We're a family. Nothing can tear
us apart anymore.

I have no idea what the future holds. No one does, really. Many
people think they do, and usually what plans they do have are
rather meager and thin. God places changes in our lives that
deepen us. Life is depth, not longevity. If longevity meant
anything, Methuselah would have been the hero of the Bible. As
it is, a man who was crucified at 33 years of age dominates the
Bible. He was a young lion assaulted by a society of hyenas,
hypocrites and liars. His life, however, has proven a comedy. He
always has the last laugh. That thought is what gives me
endurance. Suffering is only the second act of a comedy. Justice
springs up in the third act, and if we're at all sane, we laugh our
asses off.

With that said, I'll add a postscript. Life is, was and always will
be a jungle. We are as much animal as spiritual. Be not ashamed.
Be alert. Pick the animal you want to be. Hopefully, you'll be a
North American lion or lioness.

Michael Moriarty is a Golden Globe winning actor, best known
for his role as Assistant District Attorney Ben Stone on Law and
Order. 

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