If most men be mere mortals, then I have truly walked among the gods and enjoyed their counsel and guidance as I laid down in the heavens amidst their gardens and byways. I owe an unpayable debt to those men of stature and substance that came before me and bestowed upon me their knowledge and sage wisdom. Those unknown heroes who took the time to lay the hand of learning upon my eager soul and cultured within me a lifelong desire to learn and excel at any task or toil I put my hand to.
For me personally, that is why we should all show #appreciationformen. We men must teach the generations to come the parameters of being a man. We must all take up the mantle of being a steward to the youth and show them that being a man is not just machismo and aggression. This singularity of thought and deed should permeate all of us to the point that we are saturated with the overwhelming desire to pass our experiences, successes, failures, and knowledge to those wide-eyed souls coming into the realm of manhood.
We, the fortunate ones chosen by the gods themselves to bear the grace and elegance of manhood, must forge a blazing path onwards and upwards for our children to follow. A roadmap to tap into the essence of what makes men become men of character, men of substance, men of determination. The path of truth and righteousness should be a rally cry from the depths of our beings. Our actions and deeds should cry out,”You, boy, follow me to greatness embrace the destiny borne to you from the peak of Olympus!”
For how else will the precious souls entrusted to us know the path to take? How will they know when they reach an ethical fork in the road which way to go? We can not just tell them, we must show them the way. Because, who among us learns by mere hearing? “Show me the way that I may now enlightenment.”, this is the whispered words of worry I hear in my conscious from those reaching for their place in the world.
It is an absolute moral imperative that we mentor those who will walk after we are laid low to embrace our earthen shrouds. The children of today have a burning desire to know the ways of the world and it should be us, not the media, T.V., or Hollywood, that teaches them that being a man is more than appearing tough. It is knowing the wisdom of tenderness and forgiveness. Our young men need to know that having your pride hurt is not cause for retaliation but a call to introspection as to why mere words could harm who you really are. That any fool can procreate, but it takes a man of the highest order to love, sacrifice, and raise a family. We should be living the proof of owning your obligations and working hard to reach the goals that benefit you as well as society as a whole. We should be teaching them to truly live and flourish instead of grinding away at the rat race for plastic, materialistic nothingness.
It is also not enough that we lead from the front and we guide by example the future men of tomorrow. Additionally, we have an obligation to live in a way that promotes healthy relationships between men and women. We must walk the path of appreciation and respect for the women in our lives. They are to be cherished for the beautiful, amazing creations that they are. For if the men of tomorrow are looking to us on the principles of being a man, the women of tomorrow, our daughters, nieces, and granddaughters, are looking to us and our behavior as the model and mold for what type of man they should pursue and enter into relationships with. They will look for men like us because we loved them first and they will see us as what a man should be and how they should expect to be treated. Treat those you love with kind hands and gentle compassion.
If the men of tomorrow are searching for someone to take their hand and guide them into the future, we must take that hand and lead. It matters not if these young men are our blood, we are all bound by the intertwining family of humanity. Our duty lines to the generations to come to be the examples we would have wanted or needed when we were growing up. Be the father, mentor, teacher, or leader you needed at your darkest hour and our future will forever be enlightened. We are raising the men who will stand by our sides in the hall of Valhalla for all of eternity, teach them to be men you would be proud to have by your side. We must be fathers to the fatherless, teachers to those yearning to learn, mentors to those desiring more than what they were born into. This is how we will be appreciated, this is why I appreciate men, and this is how we will touch the hem of immortality. We will live through those who go forth after we pass from this realm.
All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter,
Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost
-Tolkien