Seek perfection of character
7/15/2013
Seeking perfection
of character to me means to continue to strive to improve myself and my
understanding of my own actions and what controls those actions. While perfection by definition is
unattainable, the ability to constantly improve is an attainable goal. As you gain more understanding of yourself
and your abilities in life, you gain more self confidence and there for more
self control. This leads to maintaining calm during stressful situations and
being able to rationally thing rather then just react to external stimuli. A
major issue I currently have is getting bogged down in the detail to the point
that I lose focus on the whole. A prime example in training is when I get
concerned that I did a move wrong and I focus on that to the exclusion of
completing the next steps or following with the class. This can also be seen in when I get upset
with something my son or Taylor have done and I focus to much on it and miss
the improvements made in other areas
Be faithful
7/15/2013
Being faithful is
such a loaded term and in many ways can be contradictory. There are many things in life to be faithful
to and sometimes they will be in direct conflict with each other. Being faithful to yourself involves being
truthful to yourself and recognizing your flaws as well as strong points. I
think one of the hardest lessons in life is to try and face your self in the
mirror and understand your own misconceptions about yourself. Being faithful in
the regard is accepting what you are and working to change the things you
identify as needing to be changed. Then there is being faithful to others such
as spouses, family and friends. In life
here are always temptations to take an easier way or to do things that could be
hurtful to those that you have decided to give a portion of yourself too. To me if I call you friend that means I am
making a commitment to you and that you can rely on me to be there if you need
me. The show of faith to others like this are the easy to identify but the
harder ones are the commitments that are easy to neglect or ignore. The willingness to listen and not solve or to
show up and be supportive and not judge mental. To be 100% in when performing
an activity with others. In class being
faithful is attending in good spirits, paying attention to the class and
focusing on the techniques but it is also taking the time to practice and study
outside of class so that you are not an interference in class to others that
are also learning
Respect others
7/15/2013
Probably the one I
have the hardest time with. To me respect is something that is earned and not
given.i think sometimes it is easy to confuse respect of a person and being
respectful to people and something I have struggled with this in my life. In the end though I have come to realize that
everyone should be treated with dignity and a measure of worth. It is easy to
discount someone based on a quick impression, this is in many ways probably the
most disrespectful action possible as it discounts the persons worth and
abilities based on a split second look that in many cases does not involve
anything else. It is easy to discount those you feel are less knowledgable or
experienced in anything and feel you can not learn from them. To me respect
comes in a few forms but the biggest being that there is no one in existence
that does not have the ability to teach me something if I am just willing to
open myself to the possibilities. Some
are glib at this thought and say yes they can teach you what not to do, but it
goes so much further then that. Over the years I have come to understand that
no one sets out in life with low self expectations and the desire to fail but
rather they have situations that they are unable to overcome for whatever
reason. It is easy to feel pity for those but that is also a form of disrespect
as no one wants to be pitied. They want
to be understood and be shown empathy and share their story and life
experiences. In the end the rule my
mother always told me growing up is still the best approach. Treat others as
you would want to be treated
Endeavor
7/15/2013
To endeavor is to
strive but to strive to what? Endeavor
is the process of continuing to move in a direction towards a goal with out
losing sight of the goal when you become side tracked due to outside
influences. It means being truthful with yourself in regards to the goal and
your abilities to obtain those goals, but also in not setting the goals so low
that you do not have to push yourself to reach those goals. Endeavor means to continue to refine where
you have been, improve where you are and prepare for where you are going, to be
open to new paths but to be honest and faithful to yourself on the journey. To
endeavor means to push oneself rather then coasting on past accomplishments or
achievements
Refrain from violent behavior
7/15/2013
Sounds so
simple….don't fight right. But violence can be more then just the physical act
of attacking someone. It can be
provoking a situation to warrant a response that will escalate into a physical
confrontation. It can be having thoughts of violence and allowing the surge of
emotion invoked by the thoughts to direct your actions. Violent behavior starts
with the mind and its ability or inability to handle emotions as they arise
with in yourself. I read or heard some
where there is only one person that can make you mad or angry and that is
yourself. Another's actions may invoke
anger but you are the one that has to allow yourself to become angry. If you
can maintain a level of peace and serenity with in your mind, you are then able
to be in control of your emotions and make informed decisions. This may still result in anger and could lead
to a confrontation or it could lead to anger but allow for a path that avoids
confrontation. Violent behavior can also
be in the snide remarks or demeaning treatment of others, including the
dismissal of their worth in any given situation.