Together in Character

To make a better world we need youth of character. That means we as parents must practice it first.

1stLt Travis Manion - www.travismanion.org/about-us/who-we-are

Howdy all. It has been a bit since I slung an encouragement. I felt it was a good time to do so. 

I am very excited to have joined many other people in supporting an organization called The Travis Manion Foundation. It is a nation wide foundation created in the memory of Travis Mannion. A fellow United States Marine that was killed in the line of duty while trying to save multiple of his Marines under fire. He was killed on his second tour of duty in Iraq in 2007. 

His family took it upon themselves to ensure his sacrifice, his life of service, and his stance on character lived on. It is said we all die once when we shed our moral coil.

We die a second time when no one says our name again. 

I stand to remember 1st Lt Travis Manion’s name. I will not let him and my friends who paid the ultimate sacrifice pass from this earth a second time.

I give Travis thanks, I give his family thanks. I give any who paid the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country my utmost gratitude. 

I am proud to become a Youth Mentor through the TMF organization at this time.  I am excited to take part in their mission statement. Their primary goal is using veterans and family members of those who have been lost in service to engage with America’s youth on the importance of raising our collective character. It is training and diverse efforts of how we can all harness our own strengths, develop our own character. Completion of these altruistic acts to make ourselves, and those around us better. 

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Character

That is the theme of this encouragement today. Character. It is an umbrella term, and there are a litany of definitions that can be defined under a character's wide spread roof. Character is defined as the mental and moral qualities that define us as individuals. 

I feel character in any day and age is a vital identity to be worked for. To know thyself, to understand the strengths you possess and how to advance in this world with a known identity that is constructive, consistent and positive.

I am a fan of history, I enjoy pouring through the annals of time in search of those who represented good character, or those who didn't, and learn from them both. 

I live now, in this place, in this time. I feel it is one of my duties to stand for character. It is my duty to practice that for my country, state, and community. For my wife, and most importantly my children. 

As a father I want things from my kids that have to do with character. I teach, discuss, and sometimes demand them from my children. 

I want my kids to listen to their teachers, to work hard in school, I want them to treat themselves and those around them with respect. I want them to be accountable. I want them to be resilient.  I want them to give kindness to living things, I want them to stand up for themselves with conviction when bullied or pushed. I want them to live with happiness, a fullness of living, and consistent readiness to engage with all the wonderful opportunities around them. 

I believe they can do this with understanding what character means, and what they possess in themselves that can be defined as their character strengths. 

That means I need to be present with them. I need to teach them about character. By my words and my actions. 

I shouldn't let other entities raise my kid and then complain about why my children go astray. I shouldn't think that it is ok to play hours a day on a video game system or tablet and think that it won't affect their neurological tissue. I shouldn’t give my child a cell phone without teaching how and when to use it first. I shouldn't leave my children untethered without education about dangers of the internet-social media, unsecured firearms, alcohol or drugs and expect them to make mature adult decisions. I shouldn’t blame the media, school, or social culture for my children’s behavior when I do nothing about it in my own home first. A good question to ask ourselves; Who raised my kids today?

None of this, let alone a thousand other examples, are definitions of character in my book. That's not being accountable. That's not practicing the character of a father. A father ready to stand for the life forms he creates with his spouse. A father that gives his time, his heart, his mind for the betterment of those who depend on him. An unselfish father that respects how important his time is to his children. 

That is simple in statement, but it requires spending time with your children. Actual time knowing them, talking to them, creating simple or complex bonding experiences that you as a family share. I do not proclaim constant effort to be easy, but to me it is worth it when your child succeeds. It is our greatest duty on this planet. More so than any other purpose you can think of. 

It is worth it when our collective familial communities of America take responsibility and practice character from sea to shining sea. 

I feel when character lacks our families suffer. Our teachers suffer, our schools suffer, our society suffers, our government suffers. Our children suffer. It starts with us gentlemen. Our children look to us for guidance, education, and of course the attributes to be defined as mental and moral qualities that make us who we are.  

What will your children say about you? What do your children think about the example you show them? How can we expect them to follow the right path when our words, or worse our actions, do not give them the right example to learn from. 

How can we improve ourselves in a fast paced, human filled, technologically dependent, wild world?

Start small, check with yourself from time to time. Did you practice good character today? Could you have handled an argument with your wife better? Could you have turned a frustrating moment with your kids into a life learning moment. Be honest with yourself, be humble, be willing to admit missed opportunities. Then work hard the next day to do better. That's resiliency, that is good dad gum character gents. 

I feel good character does not go out of style, it is not mysterious, it is not a trend. It is apolitical, it doesn’t have to be based in religion. It is simple to understand who practices it and who doesn't. 

I am going to wake up tomorrow striving for the character strengths of hope, honesty, perseverance, curiosity, integrity, and dedication. I will do my darndest to help my children define theirs. 

What will you wake up with?