All
the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word:
freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope.
-Winston Churchill-
One of
the biggest challenges a Gentleman, a Noble Man, must overcome is the idea that
what you do and how you do it is right, therefore everything else is wrong. If
our code of conduct has lead us to become better men, then that is the only
way. Right?
Wrong.
I will
admit, at one time I thought like that. I believed that what made me the good
man I aspire to be was determined exclusively by what defined me. And I will
also admit it was a blow to my vanity when I realized I was wrong. You see,
there are good men and bad men everywhere. The same code that lead to the Ideal
Knight, also lead to religious wars. Too many Good Men have fought and killed
other Good Men because of this vanity.
The
problem is not the code, or the belief, or even the ideal. It’s the execution. Righteous
Men come from all over, from all walks of life, from all cultures and
religions. So do Petty Men. Throughout
history, codes
have been developed, philosophies have been established, and religions have
taken ground all as a guide to becoming a Righteous Man. Be it the Chivalry, Destreza,
Furusiyya, Bushido, Do, Se-Sok, the Path, the Way, or whatever other name you
want to give it, the goal is still the same; to become a better man.
You
can’t blindly follow any road, but rather be willing to look at all roads.
Learn from all of them. Take what works from one, learn what to avoid from
another. And forge your own road, because every man walks his own road.
Yet
within all those different roads, the path of the Gentle Man is only one. Do good, be good, and teach by example. How you
do this, is up to you, just as long as you never hurt other in the process and
never stand tall on the shoulders of others.
You
will meet many people, each with different beliefs. The fact that they are
different does not make them less than you, or make you more than them. Always
remember that.
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