What do Iron man and the Nobel peace prize have in common?

What do Iron Man and the Nobel peace prize have in common?

20 October 2024

No, this not an attempt at a poor joke, but instead an inspiring story, I hope. 

Alfred Nobel was a Swedish chemist in the 19th century who was famous for many things, such as creating the Nobel prizes (including the peace prize). However, before he founded these prestigious awards, he was famous for something else, creating dynamite: he was a weapons manufacturer and arms dealer. 

When Alfred’s brother died it was mistakenly believed by some that it was actually Alfred who had passed away, leading to one paper writing the following obituary headlined - ‘The merchant of death is dead.’

On reading this Alfred was shocked that this is what people thought of him and that his legacy would be this. So, determined to right his wrongs, to make amends for what he had been involved in, he spent his fortune on promoting peace, the arts and science and in doing so establishing the Nobel prizes. 

Ok, so where does Iron Man fit into this? 

For those not familiar with the Marvel universe, a weapons manufacturer and arms dealer called Tony Stark nearly dies when one of the rockets his company is responsible for is used against him, nearly killing him and irreparably damaging his heart. Long story short, he realises the error of his ways and uses his wealth, intellect and ingenuity to become Iron Man: a force for good that protects the innocent. 

We may not all start well, we may have good intentions that lead us down a wrong path, we may focus on the wrong thing to give us what we think we need, but, ultimately it’s how you finish that counts. 

Whether your choices have harmed others, you are struggling with addiction or compulsive behaviours or your behaviours have left you estranged from loved ones, it really is never too late to change your course in life. 

It often takes something major to jolt us into such an epiphany: a near death experience; ill health; loss of a relationship; loss of reputation; loss of liberty. If that is you then maybe, just maybe this what your life has been leading up to all along, this opportunity to finish well. 

As the german philosopher Eckart Tolle said, ‘the key to life is to die before you die.’ That is to accept and then let go of the pain, the past, the errors of one’s ways, to learn from this and use this knowledge for good. 

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Dr Thomas Matthew (MB, BChir, MA cantab, MRCGP)