Saturday, October 3, 2009

Stross' Review of Dan Meyer the Sword Swallower

Tonight Stross, Mark and I attended a type of event that you really have to see to fully appreciate: a man who can swallow swords. For real.

The sword swallower is Dan Meyer, a 1977 graduate of Waldorf College who received a distinguished alumni award this weekend. His unique ability has taken him around the world and found him performing for the Food Network, Ripley's Believe It or Not, and America's Got Talent.

For Dan Meyer, sword swallowing serves as a tangible faith metaphor. He puts his life on the line every time he does it, and his motivation is to prove that what he's doing is real. What began as a fascination for him–courtesy of sword swallowers in India–has become his vocational call.

As Dan realized, his greatest impact on a person comes only after that individual is convinced he's real. And as I've realized, it doesn't matter what faith you profess: Your ability to impact someone's life must come from authenticity. I very much respect that. God is God in any language. Authenticity is valued universally.

Stross didn't want to go at first, but we convinced him this is the kind of thing you don't usually get to see in person. According to Dan, in 1988 there were less than one dozen practicing sword swallowers in the world! I certainly can understand why the number is so small.

Stross and I try to share what we saw, but it's probably something you need to see for yourself to fully appreciate: http://www.danmeyer.org/

And, please take Stross' closing words of advice to heart!




Keep it real, people. Keep it real.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

lovely

Unknown said...

This show must have been so amazing! You are a beautiful mom!

Anonymous said...

We were there too! It was great. Thanks for sharing on your blog.

Wonderful Commentary!

Dan Meyer said...

What a great Vlog, Stross and Joy! Wow! You just touched my heart in a way my swords can't!

Thanks for posting that! Let me know if you can send me an embed link so I can embed your vlog in my blog!

Thanks again!

Dan Meyer
Sword Swallower

Daggers said...

its really very nice posting thanks for sharing this with us.